


Shot at Redemption

by SML8180



Category: Far Cry 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Cussing, F/M, Faith isn't in this much, Large amounts of cursing and sass, Non-Deputy Original Character, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rated for Safety - Just to be Sure, Rating May Change, Rose is my Sass Child, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2019-12-25 20:06:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 46,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18268460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SML8180/pseuds/SML8180
Summary: A county called Hope might seem like a calm place for someone to start over. But, with a cult running rampant and tensions running high, that could still prove difficult, even for someone as used to running and starting over as Rose Carter. Things seemed fine, until she encountered a stranger by the river. It was all downhill for her from there.





	1. Entering Hope County

Entering Hope County

 

Rose groaned when the indicator came up that she was low on gas. It had to be dumb luck that she’d gotten her hands on a car that had a full tank, and a cruel joke that she ended up taking roads that had no indication of any sort of gas station. At this point, her only choice was to find a station, or just keep going until she completely ran out. There was no way she’d manage to get to a highway to find a station at this point, leading to the choice of the latter, and so Rose just kept driving. Montana reminded her of her childhood back in Maine, between the trees and small towns, and clear abundance of people enjoying the outdoors. The nostalgia didn’t do anything to ease her nerves, though. The miles went by, and eventually, just as she’d expected, she didn’t find a single gas station she’d be willing to stop at. Every single one of the rare sights had far too many people for her to get out and fill up, and so she just kept driving until the car eventually gave up on her. The sign she could see ahead on the road might as well have been an ironic god-send; reading “Welcome to Hope County”.

Pulling over, Rose let out a sigh, turning and pulling the key from the ignition. After thinking for a moment, she decided to simply leave it on the dash; it wasn’t any use to her, now, anyways. Getting her backpack from the passenger seat, she made sure that everything she needed was still in place, and slung the bag over her shoulders. With one last check around the car for anything that could be useful, the woman turned back to the Hope County sign, and began walking along the road. There were buildings in the distance, so as long as she kept out of view of anyone who might recognize her, she’d be fine. With each step, she came closer to what could be a fresh start, under the radar.

The woman turned off the main road as she came to the town she’d seen when she started to walk. She pulled her beanie off her head, tucking it into the side pocket of her bag and letting her dyed hair fall around her shoulders. After some time of hiking down one of the few paved side roads that were likely in the area, Rose came upon a sight she hadn’t expected. White buildings, surrounding a little white church, people in ragged clothing with guns in hand or strapped across their backs milling about. Dogs barked as she approached, though most of those around didn’t seem to care for now. She took out her beanie again, and pulled her hair into a ponytail, tucking it up under the hat for the time being. There was no use taking any unnecessary risks as she walked towards the group before her. As she got closer, Rose could see the reason they were gathered, or, rather she heard it, first.

A strong voice met her first, before she could see who it belonged to. Words chosen carefully by the speaker that kept his audience enraptured. Rose couldn’t help but listen from the back of the crowd, going unnoticed by them all for a time. Slowly, she came forward, inching her way through the group so that she could see the man she was hearing. He had begun to pray by this point, leading to many of those around her to have their eyes closed. They shifted their bodies wordlessly as they felt her hand on their arms, letting the smaller body pass between them until she could clearly see the man who was speaking.

“My children, they will be coming for us. But we will not run, we will stand strong. The collapse is coming, and the only way we will emerge into a new Eden, is through atonement. Now go, spread the Word and bring to the Lord those who must be saved.” The man’s arms were outstretched as he spoke, his face turned towards the sun and eyes closed behind yellow aviators. As his words settled into silence, a collection of praises and amen’s came from the group surrounding Rose, before they slowly dispersed, leaving only the man who was once speaking and Rose herself.

Her eyes didn’t leave the man’s form. In the silence, she took in everything she could as he lowered his gaze from the sky to her, trying to determine whether or not this man would be a threat. His hair was tied back in a bun, torso clad in a button-down shirt and gray jacket, leading to dark jeans and boots. A rosary was wrapped around his left hand, dangling as he brought his arms down to his sides. He certainly didn’t seem to be a threat, and Rose could only hope that she was right as the tall man slowly stepped closer. She took half a step back as she noticed his movements, almost as if she was considering running, but a gentle, almost comforting hand on her shoulder stopped her movements completely.

“You seem troubled,” there was that voice again. Whoever this stranger was, he had a voice Rose could listen to all day, though she’d never admit to it.

“Considering the last week, and the fact that I’m surrounded by God knows who many people with guns, I think I have every right to be troubled, at the moment.” Rose brushed the man’s hand off her shoulder, taking a step back, but keeping her eyes fixed on him.

“Salvation comes to those who confess, my child. Whatever weighs on your heart may be absolved, if you only speak it. God knows what you have done, but you must come to terms, yourself.” His words were almost cryptic to Rose, who simply shook her head, stepping back again.

“Thanks, but no thanks. Believe what you want, but there’s no such thing as God. If there was, well, things would probably be very different,” Rose’s tone was almost bitter as she spoke, still taking a few steps back from the man. When he didn’t step forward to stop her, she simply turned on her heel and began to walk away from him.

“You will come to see in time, child. And when you do, you too, will be lead to salvation.”

At this, she didn’t say a word, simply shaking her head as she continued on her path away from the man. Whatever he had to say, she was too tired to listen, not that she really cared, anyways. The only thing she cared about now was finding something to eat, and someplace to stay before night fell. The only thing Rose knew right now, was that she didn’t want to be sleeping outdoors around here, especially without knowing just what might be lurking out of sight.


	2. A New Day

A New Day

 

The night hadn’t been as bad as Rose had anticipated. She’d found a small cabin out in the woods that seemed to have been ransacked and abandoned, and she’d stayed there overnight after finding nobody inside. It didn’t seem like anyone had been in there for some time, considering the general lack of anything inside. There had been a pile of basic furniture outside when she’d arrived, but much of it was damaged and of no use to her. Despite that, it was still better than sleeping out in the woods, where who knows what could’ve gotten to her. The sleep wasn’t bad, considering she’d hardly slept most of the last week. Waking late in the day to noise outside the cabin, all Rose could think to do was hold her breath and pull out the 1911 she kept in her bag for emergencies. She stood up from the makeshift bed she’d set up on the floor, and made her way to one of the windows, tucking the gun into the waist of her pants to keep it out of view.

Outside the window, the small woman caught sight of someone who had just passed by. She only spotted the back portion of the person’s hat, having missed their face. A moment later, there was a knock at the door, and a male voice calling from outside for her to open up. With slow and quiet steps, Rose made her way to the door, picking up a beanie from her bag and pulling it on over her hair. With a quick check through the window in the door, she opened it up, ready to draw her 1911 if need be.

“Well, looks like someone’s out here, after all. Name’s Earl Whitehorse, I’m the Sheriff here for Hope County.” The man Rose found on the other side of the door was friendly enough as he introduced himself. “Sorry to disturb you, miss, just passing through, checking in. Are you here alone?”

“Yeah, I’m alone,” Rose confirmed with a nod. She tried to seem unconcerned as she leaned against the doorframe. “I appreciate the concern, Sheriff.”

“Just doing my job. With the Peggies starting to act out more, gotta make sure everyone’s safe, and this cabin’s pretty close to the compound.” The Sheriff sounded concerned for Rose, despite not knowing her. “I’d suggest getting somewhere farther out, but it’s your decision. If you stay, just keep an eye out,” he warned.

Rose gave him a nod, “Of course. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Whitehorse gave her a friendly smile and nod, bidding her a good day before he stepped away from the door, turning to leave. Once he was out of sight, Rose let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. The encounter had gone far better than she’d expected, and he hadn’t even hinted at any form of recognition of her face. The small woman let herself slump against the doorframe with a sigh, looking out at the woods that surrounded the cabin. She could look through what furniture was out by the path, bring in what wasn’t broken and set up a sort of home base for herself, now that she wasn’t so exhausted. First, though, she needed something to eat. She hadn’t wanted to go into what little she’d kept in her backpack, but she didn’t have much of a choice, now. Not eating for as long as she had wasn’t exactly a good thing.

Heading back inside, Rose knelt by her bag, pulling out a change of clothes and a granola bar. It was small, but still better than nothing. She opened the wrapper and took a bite, starting to think over what she’d need to make this place a bit more livable. The first thing to come to mind was a bed; even just a mattress would be better than sleeping on the floor again. Next, maybe a table and a chair, and finally a radio of some kind. Even though it wasn’t much, it would still likely take her most of the day to get it all together, depending on what she could salvage from the pile outside. After finishing her bar, Rose got up and went to see if she could get cleaned up a bit. Surprisingly, the cabin did have running water, even if it was on the cold side, it wasn’t ice cold, and it was certainly better than nothing. She washed up quickly, and got changed into her spare clothes, before brushing out her hair and braiding it into a set of pigtails to keep it out of the way.

At this point, Rose almost regretted ditching her phone somewhere along the highway. Even though there was probably no signal out here, she’d had music downloaded onto the damn thing. The near silence of the woods was getting to her as she picked through the furniture that had once been inside the cabin. The mattress had been thrown on top of the pile, and it was in surprisingly good shape. She’d gotten lucky, it probably hadn’t rained since it was put out, so it wasn’t ruined by the water. It took some time, despite being fairly strong, Rose wasn’t exactly big by any means, which made dragging the mattress off the pile and inside anything but easy. After a good hour or so, Rose got it inside and where she wanted it.

Following a short breather, the woman got back to work, finding a table and a couple of chairs, pulling them inside. She set up the chairs and table, putting them in one of the corners of the cabin. It wasn’t much, but at least it was something to feel a little like a home. There was no telling how long she’d be staying here, but Rose honestly hoped that it wouldn’t be just a week or two, like everywhere else she’d stayed lately. The only thing she hadn’t been able to find was a radio. The one outside was broken, having likely been thrown from the doorway. Maybe she could find a handheld radio somewhere. With that idea, she started to look through the drawers built into the counter in the small kitchen space. She found some utensils, various odds and ends, and almost miraculously, she found a small handheld radio shoved to the back of one of the drawers. The batteries seemed good when she tested it out, bringing a smile to Rose’s face. It was a small victory, but a victory all the same.

Further exploration of the small cabin lead Rose to find a couple of fishing poles and a tackle box, and determined how she’d be spending her afternoon. The cabin wasn’t far from a river where she could likely catch something for dinner, and so she gathered up what she would need, tucked her 1911 into the shoulder holster she’d put on under her flannel, and started out towards the water. It was calm down by the river, and it reminded Rose of her childhood back in Maine. She’d learned how to fish when she was young, and though she hadn’t been able to fish in years, she was sure that she could still remember what she was doing. After a couple of failed casts, and a good amount of Rose cursing under her breath, she finally managed to get her line far enough out. She took a seat on a large rock beside her, and settled in to wait for something to bite.

The initial wait wasn’t as long as Rose had anticipated, though the result was only a small 4-inch catch. Despite the things she’d done before coming to Hope County, the woman did have standards, and she quickly released the small fish back into the water, resetting her line and trying again. The next few bites weren’t much better; a couple more small fish, and one that broke her line. With a /”Fuck you”/ in the general direction of the fish that broke her line, Rose sighed and reset with a new hook. By now, it was late afternoon, so she’d only have time for one or two more casts before she had to start heading back. After casting her line out once more, and settling on her rock, she waited, looking up and down the coast to pass the time.

Not too far up the coast to her left, Rose spotted a group of people gathered around, looking much like the one she’d encountered yesterday. This time, though, it didn’t seem to be the same man speaking to them. Whoever it was, he was standing in the water, arms outstretched and taking hold of one of the others who approached him, guiding them to his side. A moment passed, before the person was guided underwater and held there while the man seemed to speak, before he pulled them back up, seemingly gasping for breath. Rose watched as the drenched person walked back up to the shore, and another came down, the cycle repeating.

“Just some kind of baptism. You do you, people, you do you,” Rose turned away from the sight, mumbling to herself. She didn’t believe in God, or anything like that. She didn’t discount those who did, she could be wrong after all, but she didn’t think the idea held much water.

Waiting until she got a bite, Rose softly hummed to herself, not paying the baptism going on any mind, and not even noticing when they all left, aside from the man who’d been leading it. When she finally felt a tug at her line, the small woman acted fast, cursing under her breath as the fish fought her. A few pulls, reeling the fish in and letting it take the line out, she slowly got it to her, close enough to get it out of the water. Finally, she’d gotten something she could work with. During her efforts to pull the fish in, Rose hadn’t even noticed the baptist from earlier approaching her, until he finally said something.

“A nice catch, as my brother would likely say.” The sudden sound of a man’s voice behind her made Rose turn quickly, stumbling on the rocks under her feet. The speaker reached forward, grabbing her arm to catch the small woman before she fell into the water.

“Sneaking up on people like that is kind of a dick move, you know?” Rose looked up at the man, taking in his features. Like the man she’d encountered yesterday, he didn’t seem to be a threat. His hair was short, brown and slicked back, and he had more of a beard than the other man, with bright blue eyes. The top few buttons of his shirt were undone, and under the key he had dangling around his neck, there was a series of scars that spelled out the word /”Sloth”/. The sleeves of his blue shirt were rolled to his elbows, and she could see the numerous tattoos he had on his forearms. She wasn’t going to lie to herself, visually speaking, the man was attractive.

“Joseph said he encountered a blunt traveler yesterday. Seems I’ve had the luck to run into you, now, as well,” his voice was smooth as he spoke. To Rose, he sounded like he could have been a lawyer at some point.

“Joseph?” Rose focused on the name. So that must have been the man she’d listened to yesterday. The name fit him, honestly.

“My brother, the Father.” The man in front of her specified the person he was talking about, though it did little to help Rose. He stepped back, letting Rose get her footing back. “My name is John.”

“Your brother’s a preacher, and you’re a baptist?” Rose hadn’t originally intended to ask this aloud, but once she realized she’d said it, it was too late.

“You could say that.”

“Well, that’s certainly interesting. Good for you two. But, before you try to offer anything, I’m not interested. Like I told your brother, you can believe what you want, but personally, I don’t believe God exists, and you’ll have a hell of a time trying to change my mind.” Rose’s words were blunt, to say the least. They weren’t as bitter as they had been when she’d spoken to Joseph, but they certainly didn’t leave much room for argument. The small woman gathered her things and started to walk back towards her cabin.

“Could I at least know your name?” John called after her, not bothering to mention her blunt words.

“What would you give to your lover on Valentine’s?” Of course she wasn’t going to give him a straight answer. For Rose, that just wasn’t how she rolled.

John stood in silence for a second, almost seeming surprised at the woman’s response. Most would have just given him a name, but this woman was clearly different. He thought for a second, before calling after her, putting the pieces together, “Rose?”

Rose gave a soft laugh, looking over her shoulder at the man. “You’re a smart one, John.” With that, she turned back, heading to her cabin to prepare the fish she’d caught.

Dinner and the rest of the evening went by without much to speak of. Rose was glad that there were a handful of magazines that held information on how to prepare a fresh catch, because in that department, she’d been clueless. It had taken her time, but in the end, she’d had a good dinner for the first time in weeks. As she lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling of the cabin, all Rose could think of was John and Joseph. The baptist and preacher brothers who probably worked together. Joseph’s words from the previous day still echoed in her head, but she shook them away. There wasn’t any such thing as God, and even if there was, she sure as hell wouldn’t be in good standing with them. As sleep finally started to take her, the last thing she could think about were John’s tattoos, and his eyes, and the scars across his chest.


	3. Encounters

Encounters

 

A week had gone by, now, and Rose had fallen into a routine. She would wake up in the morning, have a cup of coffee, and find something for breakfast. After eating, she would normally spend the day mapping out paths through the woods around her cabin, or going fishing at the river. She normally kept away from others, and stayed mostly away from the nearby town. By evening, Rose would head back to the cabin, have dinner, and relax indoors, usually looking through the magazines she found in the cabin, or sitting outside and watching as the sun set and the stars came out.

Nobody really came around the cabin, and Rose had no issue with it. The less people she encountered, the less of a chance there was for her to be recognized and turned in. She would see the occasional person by the river, or a stray hiker on the path, but it wasn’t a common sight. By the next week, though, Rose found that she would need to actually go into the town. There were a few things that she needed that you just couldn’t get out in the woods. There hadn’t been much coffee in the tin when she had gotten there, and one could only live off a fish-only diet for so long. With a sigh, Rose cleared out space in her bag, setting her clothes and various other things she didn’t need to bring with her on the bed, strapped the bag over her back, and started out towards the nearest town, making sure her 1911 was where it belonged, just in case.

It was a decent hike to the main road that lead to the town, but Rose’s muscles were used to it, by now, after growing used to heading down to the river and hiking the trails all week. As expected, there weren’t many people along the way. At least, for most of the trek, until Rose came across a familiar body ahead of her. Even after just one meeting, she would recognize those glasses and that man-bun anywhere. Joseph was ahead of her on the trail, carrying a white bound book in his left hand as his rosary dangled below his palm, swaying a bit with each step he took. Rose tried to keep back from the man, doing her best to match his steps so that her own wouldn’t be heard and draw his attention. He didn’t seem aware of her presence, anyways, as he softly hummed as he walked. Rose was able to pick out the tune of Amazing Grace, a song she’d heard numerous times during her childhood. She shook her head, and continued to walk behind Joseph by several paces, hoping that he would take the opposite path at the fork coming ahead of them. It was just her luck when he didn’t turn off, but remained on the same path she needed to take to the town. As a result, Rose mumbled a string of curses under her breath.

“You really should mind your language. You can never know who might be listening,” Joseph’s distinctive voice met Rose’s ears, and she almost froze in her tracks. He had stopped, and partially turned towards her, with the same relaxed gaze he’d had when they last encountered one another.

“Last I checked, there were no children around in earshot. Unless I’m looking at one, that is,” Rose took a few steps closer to Joseph, looking him up and down with a smirk. Was the statement a bit petty? Maybe, but hell if she cared.

“The Lord listens,” Joseph offered in response. He turned fully to face Rose, watching as she stepped closer. “But, judging from our last meeting, you don’t exactly believe that.”

“I’m gonna be honest, I’m kind of surprised you remembered that.” She hadn’t exactly expected Joseph to remember her at all, let alone remember anything she’d said to him when they were last face to face.

“Many of my followers held the same views when they first came to the light. In time, they began to see that they had been mistaken.”

“You’re gonna have a hell of a time if you intend to change my mind.”

Joseph was quiet for a moment, before he spoke up again. “It seems we’re headed in the same direction. Would you at least humor me until our paths diverge?”

“Only because there’s no other path into town.” Rose gave a shrug as she responded. It wouldn’t be a long time to humor the man, anyways.

Joseph gave a nod, and began to walk down the path once again, with Rose taking a few quick steps to catch up with him. They were both silent for a short time, before Joseph finally spoke again.

“You don’t seem to be from around here,” he observed, looking at Rose out of the corner of his eye. Even with just a glance, Rose could see the same bright blue of John’s eyes when Joseph’s weren’t obscured by the yellow aviators he wore.

“Lucky guess. I’m willing to bet you and your brother aren’t from the area, either.” Rose looked up at Joseph, seeing what she could get from just reading his reactions.

“That’s right. We were born in Georgia,” Joseph confirmed. His answer seemed honest, and it almost surprised Rose in a way. It wasn’t often she encountered someone who was truly honest.

“Maine.”

“Hm?” The tall man looked down at Rose, humming in question. She’d spoken just fast enough that he hadn’t actually caught what it was she’d said.

“I’m from Maine. Originally, at least,” she clarified. She hadn’t been in Maine, or anywhere in New England, for that matter, in quite some time.

“I see. What brought you to Hope County, then?” Joseph seemed to be genuinely curious, if his tone was anything to go off of.

“A car.”

“You’re running from something.”

Rose looked up at Joseph for a second, before clearing her throat a bit. “What gives you that idea?”

“You’ve stayed away from commonly used trails, kept out of the town, you didn’t even give John your name outright. And you were matching my steps, in a clear attempt to go undetected.”

“Maybe I just don’t like people, you consider that?” She wasn’t about to admit that Joseph was right. Rose was running from something. A lot of somethings, if she was honest.

Joseph shook his head, “I don’t doubt that is part of it, but it’s far from the entire story. There isn’t any use in hiding it, because it is all clear in the eyes of the Lord.”

“I don’t have to tell you anything. We don’t know each other, and frankly, I’m completely okay with it staying like that.”

The man by her side didn’t say anything for a moment. He simply gave a nod as they continued to walk. A silence fell over them, and it began to make Rose a bit uneasy. The situation wasn’t helped when Joseph began to hum again, this time a tune she couldn’t name. As Joseph hummed, Rose couldn’t help the oddly uneasy feeling that built up in her. She cleared her throat a little louder than normal, halting the man’s humming.

“So… You’re one for music, too?” She tried to make some sort of actual conversation with him. They were stuck with one another until at least the next fork in the path, and she couldn’t stand the thought of just listening to his humming the entire time.

“I am, it’s one thing my brothers and I share,” the corners of Joseph’s lips tugged into a short-lived smile.

“Brothers? There’s more than just you and John?”

“We have an older brother, Jacob. Although, he isn’t the social type,” Joseph seemed to let out a quiet sigh as he thought of his older brother.

“I can relate to that, at least. Not exactly a people person.”

Joseph gave a quiet nod. “That was made clear the day we met, considering your communication skills.”

Rose simply rolled her eyes. She knew well enough that her people skills weren’t exactly the best. Her family had made sure she knew that. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I know damn well that I’m not the best with people, I don’t need some preacher telling me that. If you’re gonna spit facts at me, then tell me something I don’t already know,” Rose looked up at Joseph, almost challenging him to try to actually tell her something she didn’t know. The man was silent for a few moments, before he finally spoke again.

“John very well knows who you are,” he finally said. The man continued a couple of steps, before stopping, seeing that Rose had frozen in her tracks.

“How the… I didn’t even… I didn’t give him my full name…” she could only stammer at this point. How did that silk shirt wearing baptist know who she was from just her first name?

“John Duncan was a lawyer in Atlanta. John Seed is my baptist. They happen to be the same man.” Even if it didn’t show on his face, Rose could hear the smirk in Joseph’s voice. Her drop in confidence was just what he’d expected when he dropped the information on her.

“Well, that, complicates things a little,” Rose was honestly at a loss for words. She knew she shouldn’t have trusted John with her name, but she stupidly let her guard down. After standing where she was for another moment, Rose began to walk down the path once again, with Joseph following. They continued in silence; Joseph didn’t even start to hum again, until they got to the next fork in the path, and Joseph started to take one way, and Rose the other.

“It seems we’ll be going our separate ways,” the man looked towards Rose, his demeanor as calm as ever.

“Tell your brother he’s gonna have to try harder if he wants to get into my head. Oh!” Rose stopped after a few steps, quickly finding a pinecone on the ground and tossing it to Joseph, who was able to reach with his free hand and catch it. “Give that to John for me, tell him I say if he wants to fuck with someone, he can fuck himself with that.” Following her statement, Rose didn't wait for a response; she simply continued on her way, leaving Joseph with the pinecone in his hand.

It took Rose a while longer to reach the town, and she did her best to keep out of sight while there. Getting what she needed, Rose put everything into her bag and started to head back, hoping that she wouldn't have any more encounters. The way back to her cabin was almost completely silent, with only the sounds of wildlife and Rose’s own steps filling her ears. It wasn’t until she was back at the cabin that things seemed different. The door was ajar when she approached, and it filled her with a sense of unease, bordering on dread as she came closer. Her steps were as quiet as she could manage as she pulled out her gun and climbed the three steps to the cabin’s porch. Making her way across, Rose practically held her breath, 1911 at the ready in case she needed it. She got to the door, and kept to the side of it, peeking through the crack from the door being ajar before nudging it open with her foot and stepping around to properly view the inside of the cabin from the doorway, gun trained on the inside of the structure.

“October 4th, 2005; arrested for breaking and entering, first offence, let off on probation. April 25th, 2007; arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, two and a half years prison time, followed by six months parole. August 19th, 2011; arrested for the possession of an unregistered Glock 26, three years prison time, two years on parole.” Rose knew that voice anywhere. It was that damn baptist again. Her gaze settled on the man sitting in the corner of the room, left ankle resting on his right knee, as he sat on one of the chairs by the table, his right elbow resting on the wooden surface while he read from a sheet of paper in his hand. He looked up at the woman at the door and smirked. “Seems you’ve had some legal issues.”

“I’m gonna ask you this once,” Rose began, taking a deep breath to settle herself. “What the actual fuck are you doing in here?”

John set the page he held on the table and let his hand dangle over the edge of the hard surface. “After our little meeting, I decided to do a little bit of research through some case notes I had from a while back,” he was smirking as he spoke, and almost sounded amused. “Your name rang a bell, and now I see why. Rose Anne Carter has been on the run for the last six weeks.”

“So what? You’re no cop, you can’t arrest me.”

“I may not be a cop, but, I could easily turn you in with an anonymous tip to the Sheriff. You might not be worried about me, but you are worried about him. Now, why don’t you put the gun down, and we have a little chat?”

Rose hesitated for a second, eyeing John over the sights of her 1911. He was right, she wasn’t worried about him at all, despite the fact that he was a good head taller than she was when he stood up. But, she was worried about Whitehorse; despite their encounter a week prior, she had the feeling he wouldn’t hesitate to check out a tip leading to a potentially dangerous criminal who was very much wanted. With a sigh, she let her aim fall, slipping her backpack off and approaching the second chair at the table, setting the gun down out of both their reach. If she wasn’t going to have it, she was going to do what she could from letting the blue eyed man across from her get at it.

“Fine, then. You wanna talk, Blue? Let’s talk.”


	4. Just a Chat

Just a Chat

 

Rose was sitting across from John Seed himself, her warm brown eyes meeting his clear blue ones. The man was staring back at her, his arm still propped up on the table. A silence lingered between them as one waited for the other to say something, anything, to kick off their conversation. Finally, after several long moments of nothing but silence, Rose spoke up, unable to take the silence of the room any longer.

“So, what do you want?” She was up-front with her approach. After he threatened to turn her in, Rose didn’t want to waste time or leave any possible opening for John to twist things around.

“I want to make a deal with you,” John’s words almost sounded practiced. It shouldn’t be a surprise to Rose, considering she knew John had been a lawyer.

“What kind of deal? I know you were a lawyer, Blue. And once a lawyer, always a lawyer.” The woman crossed her forearms on the table, resting against them as she leaned forward in her chair.

“You could join us.”

“Excuse me?” Had Rose really just heard what she thought she did? Did John Seed really just propose that she join whatever he and his brothers were up to?

“You could join Joseph, Jacob, and I. Or, I could radio in right now to the Sheriff and turn you in. It’s your choice,” John’s lips curled into a smirk. She had heard correctly.

“You don’t have the guts, Blue,” she stared John down intensely, her gaze never wavering. The man across from her just smirked more and pulled a handheld radio, much like her own, from his belt, holding it up so she could see, but far enough away that she’d have no chance of reaching it. “Don’t you fucking dare, bitch.”

“If you don’t want me to call in, just say you’ll join us. Just say yes.” John’s voice was level as he spoke. He knew Rose wouldn’t have a choice, and that was crystal clear.

Rose bit her bottom lip, worrying it between her teeth as she considered her nearly nonexistent options. For all she knew, if he did call in, Whitehorse wouldn’t mess around. He’d bring more than enough people to get her in custody if he knew there was a dangerous criminal in the cabin. But, on the other hand, she had no idea what John and his brothers had going on. All she’d seen was back on the day she got into Hope County. She had no idea what it actually was she’d seen, but it would still probably be better than being turned in. With a sigh, she reluctantly nodded, “Fine.”

“Then say it.”

“It.”

John stared at Rose as she smirked, “No, that’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“I said it, didn’t I?” Rose was trying not to laugh, at this point. If she was going to join up with these guys, she might as well have a bit of fun doing it.

“You didn’t say yes!” John held his radio tighter, taking a breath to compose himself. “We’ll work on it later.”

“Sure we will,” Rose had to admit to herself, annoying John was pretty amusing. Her prods got far more of a reaction from him than they did from Joseph.

“And don’t think I don’t know about your little pinecone bit. Joseph told me all about it,” John was clearly not amused by her prior joking with his brother. Given, she hadn’t been completely joking at that time.

Rose simply shrugged, pushing her chair back so that she could kick her feet up onto the corner of the table. “Anything else you wanna talk about, lawyer boy?”

“Considering you will be a member of the Project, you’ll need to learn about what we believe. And, you’ll have to learn a bit of respect, because what Joseph and I have seen won’t exactly cut it for someone we are personally bringing in.”

Rose rolled her eyes at this, it sounded just like something her parents would say. “What are you, now, my parent? What you see is what you get with me, take it or leave it.”

“I suppose I’ll have to take it, for now. Jacob should be able to handle your behavior. For now, though, I need to get going. You’ll find something on your bed that might help you learn a thing or two.” With these final words, John got up from his seat and made his way towards the door of the cabin. “I expect you to have read at least a few pages by the next time we meet,” he added over his shoulder, before he left the cabin completely, heading down the porch steps and down the path.

Once the Baptist was out of sight, Rose got up from her seat, closing the cabin door properly and grabbing the backpack she had set down, putting away the things she had gotten while in town. Thankfully, she hadn’t gotten anything that really needed to go into the fridge right away. After everything was in its place, she went to her bed, letting herself fall back onto the soft surface, though she fell onto something hard that she hadn’t expected to be there. Rolling over, she reached under her back and pulled out the offending object; a white leather bound book. Sitting up, Rose took a better look at the cover of the book. The cover was slightly embossed, the pattern on it stood out in black against the scuffed white of the leather; she recognized the pattern from the buildings at the compound and from the clothing she had seen the followers at the compound and by the river wearing. Despite the handful of scuffs on the front and back covers and spine of the book, the binding was seemingly fairly new, indicating the copy hadn’t been handled much. Had this been a copy that the brothers had kept separate for those they looked to bring in personally?

Without much of a thought, Rose set the book aside; she’d look into it later. For now, she got up and decided to get a few smaller things done. She got the soap she’d gotten from town and gathered up her clothes, going about washing them and hanging them up to dry. Afterwords, she went about making herself something for dinner, settling with a simple sandwich made from a few things she’d gotten in town. With dinner finished, Rose pulled a journal out from her bag and went to sit on the porch as the sun let off its last vibrant colors for the day, painting the sky pinks and oranges. Despite her less than favorable reputation back in Maine, Rose had actually always been a bit of an artist. She sketched the landscape in the sunset, and wrote about things that had been going on recently, being sure to date the page. When it got too dark for her to continue her journaling, the woman went back inside, putting the journal back into her backpack. After undressing and pulling on a T-shirt that was several sizes too big as a sort of nightgown, Rose settled in bed, but found herself unable to get to sleep. Following several long, restless moments, she sighed, deciding now was as good a time as any to actually start checking out the book John had left behind, so, she sat up, propped up on her pillow, and pulled the book over to her.

Opening up the front cover was as good a place as any to start. Inside the very front cover of the book were three short messages, each handwritten, each with different handwriting. The first was written in simple print, in an average size and spaced out a bit.

_ What is once lost can always be found again. Those who are blind can be made to see. Any and all can find salvation in the Lord, so long as they seek him out.     -Joseph Seed; The Father _

The second was written in a much tighter and smoother sort of handwriting. It was clear that whoever’s writing it was, they had a steady hand.

_ You must atone for your sins, though God knows them, already. Confessing your sins and asking the Lord for forgiveness are the first steps towards redemption. Your sins must be known to all, and washed away before the gates of Eden will open to you.     -John Seed; The Baptist _

The final message was in a larger size than the other two, and was a bit messier, as well. Almost as if it were written quickly, and without too much consideration for the overall appearance of the finished product.

_ This world is made up of wolves and rabbits; the strong and the weak. Even one wolf alone cannot stand. But, as a pack, they are feared, and they survive. If you want to survive in this world, you need to be strong; physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. There’s no other way to survive.     -Jacob Seed; The Soldier _

Rose shook her head a bit after reading the three short messages written into the book. She really didn’t think she’d get much out of it, after all. But, she had no intentions of being arrested by Whitehorse, so, she turned to the first page of the book’s first chapter, and started to read. After a few pages, Rose stopped to think about what she’d read, and found her eyelids heavy and slowly starting to droop. Using an order insert from one of the magazines by her bed as a bookmark, Rose marked her place and closed the leather bound book, running her fingers over the pattern on the front cover for a short moment before setting it aside and laying down, allowing sleep to finally take her.

Her sleep wasn’t as restful as she’d hoped for, and Rose found herself still feeling extremely tired when she woke up. She stretched and yawned, sitting up in bed. The woman got up and went to get cleaned up, before going about her usual routine. It had been cloudy when she’d gotten up, and started to rain as she was making her coffee; so much for going fishing, then, there was no way she was going to go out to the river in rain like this. As she sipped her coffee, Rose simply watched out the window, watching as the rain slowly picked up. There wasn’t much she really wanted to do out in the rain, and it didn’t seem that this would be letting up anytime soon. As such, she started to think of what she could do indoors, and her thoughts turned to the book that John had left her. She’d read a few pages the night before, but didn’t really remember much of it, considering she had been so tired. Considering she wasn’t going anywhere, she might as well try to actually take in what she was reading.

Finishing her coffee, Rose put the mug in the sink, and got the white leather book from the makeshift table beside her bed, settling down in the soft armchair she’d found among the pile of furniture while she was clearing it out the other day. It was a large chair, and with her small frame, it was easy for her to just curl up in it. With her radio by her on a second table she’d put together from the spare broken pieces, she opened the book, moving on from the messages on the inside cover when something caught her eye. On one of the pages before the text of the book actually started, there was another bit of handwriting. It matched up with John’s penmanship, and simply read “Frequency twenty-eight; in case you want to listen. Frequency thirty; in case you want to talk”. Rose usually kept her radio set to frequency eighteen, which was the station she’d found that played some decent music. It filled the silence, at the very least. But, as she started to turn to the station John had indicated, just to see what it was.

Joseph’s voice came through the speaker of the radio, slightly distorted by the static from a weak signal, but it was his voice without a doubt. She kept the radio on to fill the silence as the rain continued to come down, and turned to the first pages of the book in her hands, starting to read it again. Rose didn’t know how much time went by before she finished the book’s first chapter and marked her page, feeling that it was enough for the day. Joseph’s voice no longer came through the static, but instead, there was music, the sound of a choir singing filled the quiet space. Rose decided to keep the frequency running as she went about a few things, checking on her drying clothes in the bathroom, before going about making dinner. The rain picked up further, coming down in sheets that pounded against the windows and roof, as thunder started to sound and wind howled outside. Luckily, the cabin seemed fairly secure, and the storm didn’t shake her.

As the hour grew late, Rose got changed into her large T-shirt, bringing the radio and book to her bedside and setting them down. For the hell of it, she turned the radio to frequency thirty, but heard nothing but quiet static. After listening for a bit, she simply turned off the device, setting it down, and settled in for the night as the storm went on outside.


	5. Time

Time

 

Reading Joseph’s book quickly became a part of Rose’s routine, just as going down to the river had. She would wake up in the mornings, have a cup of coffee and read a few pages of the book while she listened to Joseph over her radio, before going down to the river to fish. A couple of weeks went by, and she had really settled in around Hope County. She actually enjoyed how much the area reminded her of Lincoln, and it didn’t have any of the things she’d hated about the little town she grew up in. Her parents weren’t there, her reputation didn’t exist here, she could be on her own.

Rose was coming back early from the river, carrying a fresh catch. She’d gotten lucky and caught a good sized fish after only a couple of casts, and so had some spare time, now. As she walked up the path to the cabin, she hummed to herself. The music that played on the station John had given her to listen to was honestly fairly decent, and she found herself humming a few of the songs while fishing or doing things around the cabin. Though she still wasn’t sure about God’s existence, or Joseph’s Project in general, their music was still good. Her humming stopped when she got within sight of the cabin, though. Sitting on the chair out on the porch was a stranger she hadn’t seen. He was of a strong build, tall, with bright red hair and a beard, wearing an army jacket and plain T-shirt. As she got closer, Rose spotted her backpack by the man’s feet. She really needed to find a way to keep people out of her damn cabin. She came closer, muscles tense as she tried to think of what to do. Her hands were full and she wasn’t about to drop what she had and risk losing or damaging things.

“Random person on my porch, what d’ya want?” She called to the man as she approached, getting to the steps. He looked up from fidgeting with the large knife he had in his hands. The man stood, tucking the knife away and picking up Rose’s backpack, slinging it over his shoulder as she came up the porch steps.

“To take a little pup back to the compound,” his voice was a bit quiet, and a little quiet, as if he didn’t use it often.

“What the hell? I don’t have to go anywhere with you, put my shit down,” Rose wasn’t amused. This had to be some kind of sick joke, because this wasn’t something that should be normal. Given, John had broken in and been reading off her arrest record one time, so normal was likely out the window once she got to Hope County.

“Joseph wants you at the compound, pup. You don’t have much of a choice.” As he spoke, the red-haired man took a few steps closer to Rose. She’d gotten onto the porch, setting her things by the cabinet that was by the steps. Before she knew what was happening, the tall man had grabbed her arm and was attempting to head her to a truck she hadn’t noticed at first. The woman resisted his grip, using her free arm to pull herself close to the railing to try to hold her ground.

“I’m not going anywhere with you, let go!” Rose pulled at her arm, her feet trying to find purchase on the wooden porch. The tall man’s grip loosened up, but before she could really do anything, Rose felt herself being lifted into the air. “Put me down!” Her protests fell on deaf ears, and she resorted to taking a few swings at the man, one hard punch connected with his shoulder, a kick landed at his hip, and another punch met by his eye. The last strike earned a curse from the man, and left a scratch, and would likely result in a black eye. Still, though, he didn’t let go of her slim frame; he simply hefted her over his shoulder as she punched at his back, shouting at him to put her down.

“Fighting me’s not gonna get you anywhere, girl,” was all he said in his quiet voice as he put her down for a moment, keeping her cornered with his bulky frame as he took out a set of zip-ties and restrained her hands. He got her into the truck, throwing her bag into the bed, before getting into the driver’s seat. Without another word, he got them on the road and drove to the compound.

The ride was silent, aside from the sound of the truck’s engine. Whoever Rose’s captor was, he didn’t have the radio going, he didn’t hum like Joseph did when it was silent, and he wasn’t a talker like John. She didn’t break the silence, herself, though it unnerved her. Silence, in her experience, was almost never a good thing. But, there wasn’t much she could do about this silence, not with her hands behind her back. So, Rose simply took to watching the scenery pass by outside the truck window as the red-haired stranger drove. Eventually, Rose recognized a familiar sight out the window; a group of small white outbuildings, surrounded by fencing, all around a small white church. As the man pulled the truck in, Rose took in the compound for only the second time. This time, though, she wouldn’t have the chance to leave as quickly as she had when she’d first arrived. The truck was stopped, and the driver got out, grabbing Rose’s backpack from the bed and opened her door, pulling her out and once again settling her over his shoulder and carrying her towards the small church.

Inside, the church was simple, with a few rows of pews and a few chairs at the back. Rose couldn’t see what was at the front of the space until she was put down, pushed to her knees as a strong hand held her there. Her bag was set on one of the front pews, and she took in the space before her. There was a small platform in front of her, with a pulpit atop it, but what drew her eye was above all that. The window in the wall before her was shaped just like the pattern she’d seen all over the compound, the same cross that was on the front cover of the book John had given her. After attempting to stand, only to be firmly held in place, Rose simply remained kneeling, attempting to slip her hands out of their restraints. Several long, silent moments passed, before she heard steps behind her. She tried to turn to see who was approaching, but the man holding her in place prevented it.

“Why is she restrained?” Joseph’s voice was as calm as it ever was as he spoke. “And what happened to your eye?”

“The pup’s a little spitfire. Put up a fight when I went to get her,” came her abductor’s hoarse voice.

“You grabbed me after you’d been sitting on my porch waiting for me like a creep!” Rose protested, turning her head to try to direct her voice to the redhead. “What the fuck did you expect?!”

“Cut her ties, Jacob.” Joseph’s voice was firm as he addressed the other male in the room. So this was the third brother? Things made a bit more sense, now.

With a moment of hesitation, Jacob sighed, pulling out his knife and making quick work of cutting the heavy plastic that restrained Rose. She brought her hands in front of her after he let go of them, pulling the cut plastic from her wrists. The skin was raw, and her pulling had caused the plastic to dig in and cut into her wrists, making them bleed. They would need to be wrapped up when she got the chance. Rose didn’t bother to turn towards the heavy footsteps that walked away from her, stopping somewhere at the back of the church. With her head down, Rose could see Joseph’s feet come into view, and stop in front of her. There was nothing but silence for a few moments, before Joseph finally spoke up.

“Look at me,” his voice was calm, almost as if he were speaking to an upset child. Despite her curiosity, though, Rose refused to play along with him. He urged her again, “Look at me, Rose.” Still, she refused to look up at him. “I won’t ask again, child. Look at me.” The Father’s tone was far more serious, now, more demanding. But, Rose held her ground, refusing to turn her gaze up towards him. Joseph went silent for a moment, and Jacob’s steps came towards her again. The man knelt behind her, and she cursed as she felt a tug on her ponytail, forcing her to look up towards his younger brother.

“I’d listen if I were you, pup,” Jacob’s voice was even more rough in her ear, and his grip on her hair was tight. He was leaning over her, his face not far from her own. Without a second thought, and without a word, Rose spat at the larger man, glaring at him the entire time. Jacob glared back, using his free hand to wipe the spit from his cheek, “You little-”

“Do not stoop to her level, Jacob,” Joseph cut his brother off. Jacob took a breath, glaring at Rose before settling more behind her, keeping a tight grip on her hair to force her to look up at Joseph. “Doing so will only feed her behavior.”

Rose looked up at Joseph, glaring at him. A tense silence fell between them, before Joseph set a hand on Jacob’s shoulder. She felt the harsh grip on her hair vanish, and heard Jacob step away. In place of the painful grip on her hair, Rose felt a more gentle hand on her. Joseph was gripping her jaw, firm but not harsh. It was just enough to keep her head in place, as her eyes met his behind those tinted aviators he wore. Now that she was actually looking at the man, Rose noticed that Joseph wasn’t wearing a shirt as he knelt in front of her. His torso was bare, and her eyes roamed over the various tattoos she could see, before she took note of his scars. There were scars all over his torso, most from various cuts, but a number of them were clearly intentional, as they formed letters that spelled out several of what she remembered to be the seven deadly sins. She could see “Sloth” by his right shoulder, “Greed” on his upper arm, and “Lust” on his lower abdomen.

“John said that you agreed to join us,” he finally said, his eyes never leaving her own.

“Yeah, to save my own ass. I’m not about to get arrested because some smug bastard decided to use my record against me,” Rose practically spat her response. John had broken in and threatened to turn her in if she didn’t join up with them. It wasn’t exactly something she could refuse.

“So much anger in you, so much wrath,” Joseph mused. He didn’t let go of her chin as he observed her reaction. “That isn’t all that’s there, though. I know it. Nobody only suffers from just one sin plaguing their soul. Tell me, Rose, what else is there?”

“I don’t have to tell you shit,” she spat in response. She could hear her father’s voice in the back of her head, repeating “Wrath, Pride, Greed”, echoing still after years away from him. Those three sins, the three vices her father had always seen in her, always brought up every time she got into trouble. Those words would follow her until her dying day.

“Well,” a third male voice came to her ears. It was John, entering through the doors of the small church and walking towards Joseph and herself. “I see greed in her. Joining only to keep from being arrested. Thinking only of herself in that moment.” His voice was as smooth as ever as he came closer, standing over her kneeling form. “And judging by her records, pride wouldn’t be a bad guess, either.”

“Shut up, Blue,” Rose spat the words, pulling her jaw from Joseph’s grasp to look up towards the youngest Seed.

A harsher grip came to her chin, forcing her head back towards Joseph. He took a deep breath, keeping a tight grasp on the female’s chin as he looked her over. John didn’t respond to her comment, as he simply took a seat in one of the front row pews, watching with a smirk.

“Her attitude certainly needs work, just as you said, John,” Joseph mused absently as he held Rose’s chin. “We will have her compliant, soon enough.”

Jacob stood from his seat further back, “I can get Faith, she could give her a dose of Bliss,” he offered. Joseph shook his head.

“No. Faith has been failing to follow my wishes when it comes to her methods with Bliss,” he stated. “From now on, Bliss will only be used as a last resort, and only for those who cannot be saved in any other way.” He stood up, finally letting go of Rose’s chin, and placing his hand instead on the top of her head, keeping her from getting up. “I want you to take her, Jacob. See what you can do.”

“What, I don’t get a say in this shit?” Rose questioned, as Joseph’s hand left her head and she felt Jacob’s hand on her arm, trying to pull her to stand.

“That’s right. Now get your ass up,” Jacob responded, pulling at her arm. Knowing that she wouldn’t be able to fight off all three of them if she caused a scene, Rose reluctantly stood up. Jacob lead her by the arm out of the small church, and back to the truck. She walked with him, but didn’t go as calmly as he would’ve liked, still pulling and refusing to keep up. He got her to the truck, opening the passenger side door. Before she could get in, though, he pulled out another set of zip-ties and once again restrained her arms behind her back, before pulling out a strip of heavy fabric and tying it over her eyes to keep her from seeing where she was being taken. “I don’t want a word out of you, pup. Not a word, understand?” He got a mere nod in response, and hummed his approval, hefting Rose’s small frame into the truck and closing the door. Rose could hear him get into the driver’s seat and start the engine, and felt as they started to move, having no idea where the Soldier was taking her. They drove for what felt like ages, until Rose eventually nodded off, unable to keep herself awake, despite the situation.

When Rose awoke, she found herself in a dim room, tied to a chair as she faced a blank sheet tacked up to the wall. The only light source was a projector not far from her, casting various images onto the sheet as Jacob spoke. Her mind was foggy, and she wasn’t paying full attention as she pulled at her restraints. After some time, she heard music, like one would hear from a music box, as Jacob stepped into view. The next thing she knew, she was out like a light.

The next time Rose remembered waking up, she was locked in a cage, laying on the ground, with every muscle in her body protesting as she tried to sit up. She was sore, bruised, and almost painfully hungry, but she wasn’t going to show it. Now sitting up, she could look around. There were other cages around her, some with people inside them, some empty, but she didn’t pay much mind to them. Jacob was seated on a folding chair not far from the bars of her cage, and she looked up at him, ignoring that he was eating something.

“Well, look who’s finally up again,” he observed, looking directly at her. “Looking pretty rough, there, pup.” Jacob was smirking, now, as if he were amused by her battered state.

“I’ve taken worse, Army Boy. It’ll take a lot more than this to break me.” It took more effort than Rose had expected to sound confident. She hoped he didn’t notice, but when he gave her a smirk, she knew he’d seen right through her.

“Oh? So that must mean you’re not hungry, then,” he taunted, bringing a bite of what he was eating close enough to the bars for her to grab if she just reached for it. Rose glared at him, her eyes fixed on his blue ones, as she clenched her fists, resisting the strong urge to reach through the bars and grab the food. The man smirked, pulling the food away from the cage and making a show of himself putting the bite into his mouth. “Seems not. You’re a stubborn one, pup, but I’ll get through. I swear it, even if it takes another week.” With that, he got up from his seat, winding a music box as he did. It began to play when he opened it up, and once again, Rose’s world went dark.

The cycle repeated, Rose waking up in the same dim room, restrained, watching slides go by on the wall. That damn song played again, she was out like a light, and woke up again in her cage. By now, she could hardly think about anything. Her body ached, she was dehydrated, having been given just enough water to keep her from dying, and she was painfully hungry, having been given hardly any food for what she could only assume was two weeks, now. Rose forced her body up until she was sitting on the ground, and she looked up to Jacob, who was once again sitting outside the cage, eating.

“All you have to do is give in, pup,” there was an amused tone just coming through in his voice. As he spoke, Joseph strode into view. He was wearing a shirt, this time, along with a vest that matched the jacket he’d been wearing when Rose had first met him. The Father stood to the side, silent, simply watching her and Jacob. The older Seed repeated his motions from the previous week, bringing a bite of his food close enough for Rose to reach should she choose to. “All you need to do is take it. Show that you’ll bend for us, pup. If you do that, we’ll let you out.” This time, Rose couldn’t deny it, she was too hungry and too weak. She tried to reach for the fork Jacob held towards the bars, but he pulled it back from her reach, earning a few quiet curses from Rose.

Joseph stepped forward, now, taking the fork from his brother and kneeling by the bars of the cage. Rose looked at him, exhausted, sore, and starving. “No hands, Rose. Come closer, and I will feed you,” his words were calm, almost comforting after she had heard nothing but Jacob’s rough voice and harsh words for two weeks straight. Rose hesitated for a moment, before finally pulling herself towards the bars as Joseph offered the fork to her. When she was close enough, Rose opened her mouth, and Joseph brought the fork to her, letting her take the bite off and pulling it away as she chewed and swallowed the first food she’d had in days.

“What do you say to the Father, pup?” Jacob questioned, watching her.

Rose took a moment to respond, having to force her voice to work. “Th- Thank you…” she said, her voice hoarse and weak.

“Thank you, what?” Jacob urged. She knew what he wanted, and she didn’t want to say it. After she said nothing, he spoke again. “Maybe you need a bit more time, then.”

The thought of more time having to endure this seemed like a nightmare to Rose. After a short moment, she forced herself to speak again, looking at Joseph with tired eyes. “Thank you, Father…”

Joseph reached through the bars of the cage, his left hand, wrapped in a rosary, gripped her own as they shook, while his right came to the side of her head, his thumb lightly stroking her temple. “You are welcome, my child.” After he held her hand for a moment longer, Joseph stood, looking to his older brother. “You see, Jacob? All she needed was a bit of time.” Following the Father’s statement, Rose couldn’t keep herself together any longer. She lowered herself to lay on the dirt floor of the cage, and let herself slip into darkness once more, her exhaustion becoming too much for her to take.


	6. Recovery and Tension

Recovery and Tension

 

Rose had no idea how long she was out. She only knew that she woke up somewhere she didn’t recognize, wearing something completely different from what she had been in prior, laying on a bed that wasn’t her own. She tried to sit up, but her body protested, to the point where she simply gave up, looking around the room from her position on the bed. The room was simple, with bare wooden walls, the door to a closet near the corner, a simple desk and chair against one wall, and a nightstand with a lamp beside the bed. Rose spotted her backpack on the chair, and she was piecing together what had happened as the door to the room opened.

Joseph stepped into the room, quietly humming as he did. He shut the door behind him, and turned to Rose. He held a small case in one hand, and a bowl with a spoon in the other. The Father gave a gentle smile when he saw that Rose was awake, and he approached her, setting the case and bowl on the nightstand, and moving her backpack to the floor so he could sit on the chair by her bedside.

“It’s good to see you awake,” he said, looking over her face. His tone was gentle, and his voice soft. He was wearing his shirt, but had abandoned his vest.

Rose didn’t say anything, though not for a lack of trying. Her throat was too dry for her to speak. Joseph carefully took hold of her arm, looking it over. She had been cleaned up, but she was still banged up, covered in cuts and bruises. Rose winced a bit as Joseph manipulated her arm, before he set it down onto the bed again, opening the case he had brought with him and taking out some bandages. He began to carefully wrap the worst of her wounds, mostly on her forearm and her wrist, and moved on to her other arm after he had finished. When both her arms were wrapped up, he returned to his chair, shutting the case and setting it on the floor.

“It would seem Jacob was a bit rougher with you than I anticipated,” he mused, stirring the contents of the bowl on the nightstand. “I’m going to help you sit up, now.” Joseph reached for her, taking a careful hold on her arm and a gentle hand on her back, helping her to sit up against the pillows. She turned her head to look over at Joseph, as he picked up the bowl from the nightstand, stirring it carefully, before getting a spoonful of broth from the chicken soup it contained, and bringing it to her mouth. Rose hesitated for a second, before she accepted the spoon, sipping the warm broth from it and letting it run down her throat. If this was what she had to deal with to get something into her, so be it, because she was too sore and weak to do much of anything, at the moment. A comfortable quiet fell between them. Joseph softly hummed as he fed Rose, and she simply accepted his help. When about half the bowl was finished, Joseph set it down, pulling a napkin from his shirt pocket and carefully wiping her chin clean of any broth that had dripped down.

“Where am I..?” Rose was finally able to speak, though her voice was hoarse and weaker than normal.

“In my bedroom in my home behind the chapel. I don’t often use it, so it isn’t any imposition,” Joseph answered. It explained why things were so simple, at least. Joseph didn’t seem like someone to have much aside from what he needed. “I felt it would be best, after you endured just over two weeks with Jacob. His methods normally only take about a week to get through to stubborn minds, but you withstood far more.”

“What can I say, I’m a tough bitch,” Rose gave a soft laugh, though had to stop short, coughing a bit from her dry throat.

“Save your voice, Rose.” His request was gentle, as if he were a parent taking care of a sick child. “Jacob did a number on you, physically. It will take a bit of time for you to even get your voice back. For now, we’ll worry about getting some food into you. I need to take care of a few things, and I want that soup finished by the time I get back.” The Father’s voice was stern, leaving no room for the woman to argue. She simply nodded as he stood up, putting the chair back by the desk and moving Rose’s backpack closer to the bed, in case she wanted to get anything out of it.

While Joseph was gone, Rose held up her end of their deal, finishing the soup that was in the bowl. After she finished, she reached into her backpack, finding her radio and turning it on, letting the Project’s music fill the room. When he returned, a subtle smile tugged at his lips when he heard the music, and when he saw the white leather book in her hands.

“John was hoping you had started reading it,” he said, his calm voice coming through over the music. Rose looked up, reaching for the radio and turning it off, before nodding a bit. “What do you think?” His question was genuine, as he set a glass of water down on the nightstand.

“It’s a lot to take in, for sure. I still don’t know what to think about it,” Rose admitted. “You know my opinion on God, already, so it shouldn’t be a surprise.”

“Not a surprise, no,” Joseph started, pulling the desk chair over and sitting down by the bed. “Especially considering our first encounter. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

“It says that you were arrested… No specifics, but, it’s a bit of a surprise…” Rose’s words were almost uncertain, her fingers running over the page she had been reading. She reached for the glass of water, taking a sip of the liquid.

“A surprise that you relate to, if John’s research is to be believed,” Joseph responded. His tone surprised Rose a bit; he didn’t sound judgemental over the fact that she’d had so many issues with the law. “Three arrests, numerous escorts home by police, and actively wanted in multiple states. It seems you’ve had a troubled past.”

“Understatement of the century, right there.”

“Could you elaborate? So long as you’re up for it.”

Rose sighed quietly, marking her page and closing the book in her lap. “I wouldn’t know where to start.”

“You could start with your family. What were they like?” Joseph’s question was spoken carefully, and he seemed to be genuinely curious about the background Rose had come from.

The woman ran her fingers over the leather cover of her book, finding herself unable to meet the Father’s eyes. “I wouldn’t say they were much of a family, to be perfectly honest,” she began. “My mother was a lawyer, and my father a preacher. They were both straight-laced and strict as hell. Weren’t exactly fans of anything, really, and especially of anything I did. Just about lost their heads when I got this done,” Rose motioned to the barbell she had going through her piercing on her right eyebrow. 

“It would seem things were not easy for either of us,” Joseph supposed, his rosary wrapped hand resting on top of Rose’s as it traced the pattern on the cover of her book.

“The early chapters hit a bit close to home… Mother was a screamer, and Father ruled with fists…” her voice trailed off, as her mind wandered off to memories she’d locked away. The pair sat in silence for a time, before there was a knock at the bedroom door. Without anything being said, the person on the other side opened it, and stepped into the room.

“Let the water wash away your sins.” John added in. He came up behind his older brother, and leaned against the desk, arms crossed over his chest, and one leg crossing over the other.

“Don’t know about that just yet, Blue,” Rose denied. “Maybe at some point, but I’m not gonna say what you want.”

“You can’t blame me for trying,” the Baptist shrugged.

Joseph shook his head a bit, looking over his shoulder at John. “Is there something you wished to discuss, John?”

“I wanted to talk to Rose, actually,” the youngest Seed confirmed.

Joseph looked between Rose and John for a moment, before lightly patting Rose’s hand. He picked up the empty bowl from the nightstand and case from the floor, and stood up, making his way out. The older brother whispered something Rose couldn’t catch to John, before he left the room entirely. John stayed where he was, until the bedroom door shut, and he made his way over to the bedside, sitting on the chair his older brother had been occupying. A silence fell between them for a few moments, as they simply observed one another. Finally, Rose decided to break the silence, after taking a sip of water from her glass.

“What do you want, Blue?” She felt she’d let her walls down enough around Joseph, and they came right back up when John had come into the room.

“You look like you were hit by a truck,” was John’s response. He was smirking a bit, two could play at her game, if need be.

“No shit. Your big brother effectively fucked me up for two weeks.”

“Language,” John interjected, speaking the word in a sort of sing-song tone. “Looks like we still have work to do, especially with that mouth of yours. Jacob might not care, but Joseph certainly isn’t a fan, and aside from certain situations, neither am I.”

“What do you plan to do about it, then, Law Boy?”

“That’s a new one.”

“I try to mix it up, sometimes.”

John rolled his eyes, shaking his head a bit. “You’ll have to try to clean up for us, or we might as well just leave you with Jacob again. Going from your condition, he’d break you easy, turn you into one of his soldiers.”

“Don’t threaten me, you bastard,” Rose spat. “You can’t make me do anything.”

“So you think. But I know Jacob almost had you eating out of his hand. He can break you down, because he knows what it takes to get a person to do things they would never consider.”

“I know what your brother can do, Blue. But  _ you  _ can’t make me do anything. If you think you can, then I’d sure as hell love to see you try.”

Without a word, John got up, taking a couple of steps to close the gap between himself and the bed. He braced his left hand against the wall, the thud almost making Rose jump. His other hand was by her left shoulder, effectively trapping Rose in his tall frame. “I wouldn’t be so confident. Jacob might be rougher than I am, but you haven’t got a clue what I’m capable of.”

Rose didn’t respond, she simply stared up at John, their faces inches apart. She was lost in those damn blue eyes of his. The threatening tone didn’t help matters, either. She might not be one for fantasies, but having John Seed caging her in with his body, mere inches away from her, was sending her brain into overdrive. Several tense moments of silence passed, and the pair were still so focused on one another that neither one heard the door open.

“John, what in the world are you doing?” Joseph’s voice cut through the silence, and John straightened up quickly, looking towards his brother.

“I was just, you see-”

“We will discuss it later, John. In private. For now, Rose should be resting.” Joseph’s tone left no room for his brother to argue, and the younger man practically sulked out of the room. Once John was gone, Joseph checked on Rose, and left the room, shutting the door to allow her to rest and recover on her own.


	7. Connections

Connections

 

Rose remained in Joseph’s home for a week, recovering her strength and letting some of her wounds heal. In that time, Joseph and John both checked up on her regularly, making sure that she had what she needed. After a few days, she was up and walking around the room, once again sketching in her journal. John had come in one evening when she was looking out the window, sketching the sunset, and had simply watched her, saying nothing while he was there. After a week had gone by, she was feeling well enough to leave Joseph’s home, though he argued against her leaving the compound. Following one particular argument between Rose and Joseph, the small woman stormed out, backpack with all her belongings, including her radio and copy of Joseph’s book, slung over her shoulder.

Unable to go back to her cabin by the river, Rose decided that she would risk going into town, wherever she came across one. She had found cash stashed away in several places around the area while exploring, so she wouldn’t have to worry about it for a while. Walking along the main road, Rose kept her head down, her hair tucked up into one of her beanies to hide it. One of the most recognizable things about her was the reverse ombre color she had, leading from her naturally bright blonde hair at the roots to a deep red at the tips. She’d had her hair colored like this for quite some time, it was one of the first things she had done after getting out of the service, and she’d touch it up once it got too long and faded. Now, it was starting to grow out, and she had some options. She could just cut where the orange mid-tone faded to her natural color, and leave it be, or wait until it all grew out and faded. It was something she would have to think about, when she had the downtime.

Eventually, Rose came to the town of Fall’s End. It was small, and reminded her of the small town in Maine she had grown up in. There weren’t many people around, even for the small size of the town. The woman sighed, exhausted by the trek she’d just made, especially considering she still wasn’t in the best condition following her time at Jacob’s hands. Spotting a brightly lit sign reading “Spread Eagle”, Rose shrugged to herself, and decided to head inside. It was fairly quiet inside the bar, with just a few people milling about. The worn-out woman came to the bar, pulling herself up and perching atop one of the stools.

“I’ll be right with you,” came a female voice from across the room. A blonde woman was wiping down a table, conversing with a man wearing what looked to be a bullet-proof vest, if Rose was correct. The woman approached after a few moments, stopping in front of Rose on the other side of the bar. “Looks like you’re worse for wear. Need a drink?”

“I could go for a water or soda, if you can. I can’t actually drink,” Rose replied, resting her arms against the bar.

“Well, we’ve got pop, if that’s what you’re looking for,” the woman gave a soft laugh, ducking down to grab a bottle of a fairly popular local brand. “Going by what you’re calling the stuff, you’re not from around here, are you?”

“Not at all. In from Maine,” Rose confessed, watching as the woman came back up, popping the cap off the bottle and setting it on the counter for her. She reached for the bottle, taking a sip of the sweet liquid it contained.

“Explains it,” the woman smiled, bracing her forearms on the counter and leaning against it. “What brings you all the way out here, then?”

“Wanted to get away from shit back home, is all. Ended up in this chaos, instead.”

“It wasn’t always like this, that’s for sure,” a male voice cut in. The man the blonde had been speaking with got up from the table he was seated at and made his way over to the pair. “Hope County used to be a pretty peaceful place, until Joseph and his flock started to really kick things up.”

“Jerome’s right. We used to be what most would probably call an ideal little town, calm, tight-knit, everyone knowing everyone. Then all this happened,” the blonde sighed, turning to look at a photo behind the bar.

“He’d be proud of the hell we’ve been raising against those Peggies, Mary. I’m sure of it,” Jerome’s voice was a gentle one, even with how low it was. Mary simply gave a nod, turning back to the pair. The three heard the door open once more, and a dark skinned woman came up to the bar, settling between Jerome and Rose. Mary ducked down, coming back up to stand with a beer in hand, uncapping it and handing it off to the woman.

“You always know what I need, Mary,” the new woman’s voice was rough and a bit low. 

“Well, you always go for the same thing, Grace. Every time you come around,” Mary laughed a bit, as Grace shrugged and took a drink from the bottle in her hand.

“And who’s the new one?” Grace looked to Rose, her black ball-cap casting a dark shadow over her face.

“Rose,” was all Rose said, looking towards the woman beside her.

“Most people have been leaving Hope County, not coming in. What brought you here?”

“Running from shit back in Maine. Dunno now long I’ll be around,” Rose confessed, shrugging a bit.

“There’s a place not far from here, just down the road, a little bed and breakfast type place. If you’re looking for a place to stay, I’d check with them. Good people, they could help you out,” Jerome offered.

“Thanks, I’ll check it out.” Rose gave a little smile, before taking another sip from her soda. The cool liquid soothed her dry, sore throat.

The group chatted for a time, when the subject briefly turned to her various bandaged injuries, Rose simply claimed she’d fallen while out on a hike. Luckily, the others didn’t press for further details, and simply expressed that they were glad she’d been lucky enough to have not broken anything. The conversation went on for quite some time, as they discussed anything that came to mind. They spoke about what things had been like before the Project started to become an issue, about what they were doing, and how crazy Joseph seemed to be. Rose simply kept out that she’d encountered all three brothers, and had agreed to join the Project to save her own skin. Eventually, Mary and Jerome went to take care of a few things, leaving Grace and Rose to their own devices. Another hour or so of conversation passed, with the two females going back and forth, eventually discussing their respective time in the service. Eventually, Grace’s radio crackled to life, as someone contacted her to call for some help somewhere else in the county. With a quick goodbye, Grace left the money to pay for her beer on the counter under the empty bottle, and headed out, leaving Rose on her own.

The smaller woman remained where she was, finishing her soda and simply thinking. The Project was violent, chaotic, and unpredictable, and they were merciless as they tried to “save” the people of Hope County. And yet, she’d chosen to practically side with them to keep herself from being taken into custody. Shaking her head, she put down some cash under her own empty bottle, and made her way out of the bar. The sun was low in the sky by now, and Rose knew she wouldn’t be able to find somewhere else to stay before it got dark, especially in her current condition, still being weak from Jacob’s treatment. Thus, she made her way to the bed and breakfast Jerome had spoken about, and talked with the owners. Like the three others she’d met, the owners seemed like good people, and after giving an altered summary of her story to them, they were able to get her into a room, saying that she could stay as long as she needed, considering the circumstances, and they would work out a fair price later on.

In her room, Rose set her backpack down by the small desk, and sat on the bed. She yawned, stretching a bit before pulling her journal out of her backpack, opening it up and starting to write down what had gone on. As night fell completely, Rose’s physical state started to really make itself known. Now that she wasn’t on the move, her muscles felt even more sore, and she felt generally exhausted. She put her journal back into her bag, ignoring the radio and Book of Joseph as she grabbed one of her large T-shirts and changed into it, checking over her wounds as she did. Most of the smaller wounds were almost fully healed, by now, leaving the larger ones behind, along with the bruises that had been darkest. At least they were no longer in their fresh dark purple stage, having faded into a sickly yellow. She sighed, pulling the shirt over her injuries and checking her bandages before finally deciding to turn in for the night. Sleep came quickly, though her dreams were anything but the usual.

Her mind was filled with fuzzy images of Jacob looming over her, of the song that played from his music box. She saw Joseph’s face, his blue eyes obscured by his yellow aviators, close to her own as he spoke about trying to clean up her act. And she saw John, caging her in with his arms, his face mere inches from her own, their eyes locked. His voice echoed in her ears as she slept, though she had no idea why.

Despite her newly formed connections to a small handful of the town’s residents, Rose couldn’t let go the connections she’d already made with each of the Seed brothers. After all, the only person standing between Rose’s freedom and her arrest was that damn lawyer turned baptist. Blue held all the cards, and they both knew it. It would only be a matter of time before something happened between them, though Rose had no idea what that something would be. For now, though, while she was awake, she would simply be resting, letting her body and mind recover from her recent ordeal.


	8. Rest

Rest

 

After staying in Fall’s End for a few days, Rose was starting to relax. Being in town made things a lot easier, especially in terms of getting food, and there were enough people who needed an extra set of hands that she normally had something to keep herself occupied during the day. She was learning the names of a few people who had a fair influence around the town, as well. After almost two weeks, Rose had gotten to know Mary May Fairgrave, the owner of the Spread Eagle bar; Grace Armstrong, a war veteran and Olympic medalist who was well known for her sniping skills; Jerome Jeffries, another veteran who had become a preacher in Fall’s End, before Joseph lead his flock away as he grew his Project. She met a few others, too, like Nick Rye, a soon to be father and pilot, and Hurk Drubman Jr. and Sharky, who were both loud and boisterous, but seemed to mean well, in the end.

With each day that went by, Rose was starting to feel better. The last of her bruises faded, and only the worst of her cuts remained; those would take longer to heal, but they would eventually be gone, themselves. Until then, though, she would likely keep them covered up, especially around the others, to avoid having to answer any questions they might bring up. Overall, things were going well; by the end of the week, she already felt more like herself, and after a second, she was getting to be more active again, helping out more with whatever anyone needed.

It was a fairly nice day out, even with the clouds overhead. It didn’t seem like it would rain, at least. Rose woke up and got dressed, before heading down to have breakfast as she usually did. The B&B owners were a nice couple, starting to get a bit up there, when compared to other residents, but they still got on just fine. After she helped them clear away the dishes, the wife informed her that Jerome might need an extra set of hands down at the church. Thus, Rose had something to do, at least for the next few hours. She made her way to Jerome’s church towards the end of the road. The building was a bit beat up, but considering everything that had gone on, it was in halfway decent shape, aside from the collection of tarps that had been secured over a large hole in the side of the building. Rose never asked what happened, it didn’t really matter to her. Whatever had happened was already done, and the damage patched until things could be settled within the county to get supplies in to repair it properly.

The church doors were open, letting in the warm breeze from outside. Rose approached, coming up the steps and looking around a bit as she slowly entered the building. Jerome was sitting in one of the pews, reading a passage aloud from the bible he had propped up on the back of the pew ahead of him. Or, at least that was what she thought as she entered, hearing the start of a verse her father often used, Jeremiah 23:1,but what Jerome said in the second half wasn’t part of the actual verse.

“Woe to the man who leads my flock astray, says the Lord,” he had begun. “For if I am not their shepherd, then I must be the wolf.”

“Jeremiah 23:1. Not sure of the translation, I don’t remember the verse going like that,” Rose mused. Jerome turned towards her voice, closing the bible in his hands.

“That’s the base of it, but you’re right,” Jerome confirmed, standing and stepping out into the isle between the pews. “Question is, do you remember the actual verse?”

Rose paused for a moment, shutting her eyes as if it would help her recall the words she heard so often growing up. “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture, declares the Lord.”

“Very good,” Jerome gently praised, his voice holding a hint of surprise.

Rose simply shrugged. “My father’s a preacher back in Maine. There’s a good number of verses he drilled into my head when I was a kid. Kinda surprised I remember as many of them as I do, all things considered. I’m not exactly religious, myself.”

“Oh? Knowing that, I’m a bit surprised. Is there any reason for that? If you don’t mind my asking, of course,” Jerome questioned, as he made his way to the pulpit at the front of the room, setting the bible down on top of it.

“Some of it just seems pretty out there. Personally, I don’t think there’s any kind of God out there, but, for all I know, there could be. Agnostic atheist, here. I don’t believe there’s something there, but I do believe that there’s a chance,” Rose explained. She gave a bit of a shrug as she spoke. Even growing up, Rose hadn’t believed what her parents did, that there was a God with a plan for everybody, but she was willing to believe that there  _ could  _ be something out there. Science and logic hadn’t yet explained everything, after all, and likely never would.

“I can understand that,” the Pastor nodded. “Could you give me a hand with cleaning this up? I’ve been chipping away at it, but there’s a lot to pick up.” He motioned to the broken wood that littered the floor and pews to Rose’s right.

Rose nodded, approaching the mess with Jerome. “That’s different.”

“What is?”

“Your response. My father usually lost it when people found out I wasn’t one for faith, and he and my mother weren’t exactly happy about it, themselves.”

“God calls us to love without exception. If you don’t believe, then that’s what you’ve decided on. Anyone who claims to be of faith but who does not love all is lost, themselves.”

“I’ve never heard it put that way, actually. But, it makes sense. In the end, people will believe what they want, and no one is of any power to try to change that.”

“Exactly.” Jerome smiled a bit, as he and Rose began to clean up some of the wood that had been sitting on the floor.

Rose and Jerome worked for a few hours, moving some of the larger boards that could be salvaged to repair the church off to the side where they would be out of the way, while they gathered some of the smaller pieces to be either used to repair other buildings or burned later and set them in a different area. With a number of the larger pieces gone, the space was already starting to look a little better. Around noon, they decided it was about time for a break, and Jerome lead Rose to his small home beside the church. He had Rose sit down at the table in the kitchen, and he made them each a sandwich, humming quietly as he worked. Soon, he was sitting with her, and after a short grace, they began to eat. They ate quietly, simply enjoying the comfortable silence and each other’s company, until Jerome spoke up.

“You said a while ago that you were in Hope County to get away from things back in Maine. If you don’t mind my asking, what exactly are you trying to get away from?” His question was genuine, and he was careful with how he worded it, as if he didn’t want to come off as judgmental.

“When you’ve got a bad rep in a small town, you can’t exactly get away from it without leaving,” Rose simply answered. “I wasn’t exactly known for being a model citizen back there, and people don’t easily forgive and forget around there.”

“I’m going to guess you had some trouble with the law back then?”

“Yeah. Got arrested a couple times, escorted by police back to my parents’ place who knows how many times, that kinda thing. Family wasn’t too happy about it. They went so far as to put me into basic training right out of high school because I said I wasn’t planning on college. Spent a year in the service, got out, and found someplace else.”

Jerome nodded a bit, letting silence fall again as they finished their lunch. After the dishes were set in the sink, they made their way back to the church to continue working. As the hours went by, they talked about various things; their time in the service, how Jerome decided to become a Pastor, the places Rose had traveled through, really anything that came to mind. They worked until the sun started to set, at which point Jerome bid Rose goodnight, and she made her way back to the B&B.

After eating dinner, Rose was in her room, having taken a shower and put on one of her larger T-shirts for the night. She finished braiding her hair for the night, and was looking through her bag. She had already worked in her journal, and didn’t have much else to add to it. As she went through her bag, her fingers brushed against the soft white leather cover of the Book of Joseph she had, and she sighed, before pulling it out along with her radio. Rose set the radio on the nightstand by her bed, and settled down, her back resting against the pillows as she opened up to her marked page and started to read. Rose’s brain seemed to be in overdrive that night, not wanting to slow down and let her get any rest. As she read the book in her hands, she couldn’t help but think about the brothers. Specifically, she couldn’t keep John out of her mind. As much as Blue irritated her, she couldn’t help but feel like she wanted to learn more about him. Her gaze fell to her radio, time and time again as she tried to focus. After what felt like ages of fighting with herself, Rose sighed, marking her place in the book and grabbing her radio, turning the device on and turning to frequency thirty. As she tuned into the frequency, she caught a voice, just starting to speak.

“Are you there? Where are you? Please answer, Rose.”


	9. Confessions

Confessions

 

Rose practically froze when she heard a voice come through frequency thirty. Every time she had checked it, there had been nothing but faint static. She was stunned into silence for several moments, before the voice came through again.

“Rose, please. Just a single word, that’s all I want. We’ve been looking for you. I’ve been, looking for you.”

After a moment of debating with herself, Rose pressed the button on the radio. “Blue.”

“Rose!” John sounded surprised and relieved to hear the female’s voice. He cleared his throat, before speaking again. “I was just… You weren’t at the cabin, after you and Joseph… And, well, I wanted to be sure you were alright.”

“You know well enough I can take care of myself, Blue,” Rose responded. He’d seen her records, and how she had acted with his brothers. John knew full well that she could take care of herself.

“I know. But, I still wanted to be sure… It’s been a couple of weeks, and nobody’s seen or heard from you.” John didn’t sound smug or even as sure of himself as he normally did. He sounded as if he had been genuinely worried about Rose. “I know you can take care of yourself, and that you might not be a fan of me, but, I just wanted to be sure you were okay.”

John’s honesty came as a surprise to Rose. She hadn’t heard him be anything but smug and oddly threatening. But right now, that wasn’t the case. “Wow, Blue, were you worried about me?”

“I… Might have been.”

Rose couldn’t help but smile at that. “Well, you’ve got me on the line, now. We can just talk.”

“That’s all I wanted to do,” John sounded like he was smiling a bit. “Why do you call me Blue, anyways?”

“You’re always wearing a blue shirt. And, because of your eyes.”

“Were you looking at my eyes?”

Rose paused for a moment, before responding. “I plead the fifth.”

John chuckled, “Fair enough. Where have you been? We checked at the cabin, and the surrounding area, and couldn’t find you anywhere.”

“I don’t want you guys coming and hauling me away again.” Rose really didn’t want anymore unannounced visits from John and Jacob.

“I won’t tell them where you are. You don’t even need to say where exactly you’re staying, I just want to know you’re somewhere safe.” John really wanted to know where she was, his tone made that clear. And for now, he seemed to be completely honest with her.

She sighed softly, “I’m staying in Fall’s End.” Rose could hear John sigh quietly on the other end of the line, as if he was glad to know she was somewhere safe.

“How are you doing, recovering and all that? You were still in rough shape when you left.”

“I’m alright. Almost everything’s healed up, except for the worst of the cuts, especially my wrists…” Rose looked to her left wrist as she spoke, like her right one, it was wrapped in bandages, covering the wounds that were still there. “I’ve been helping out around here, keeping busy.”

“That’s good to hear. I’m just glad you’re okay.” John sounded more relaxed than Rose had ever heard him.

“So… You’re the Project’s Baptist… What does that entail? Obviously baptisms, but, what else do you do?” Rose had honestly been wondering this for a good time now. Eden’s Gate seemed to run things a bit differently than she had known from the church she grew up with.

“Baptisms, I’m usually the one to take confessions, as well, and I bring people in,” John explained. “I bring people in, get them to say yes, to confess, and wash them of their sins.” After Rose was silent for a few moments, he spoke again. “Why do you ask?”

“I just, was curious.” It wasn’t a lie, at least. But, it wasn’t the whole truth, either. A beat passed, and Rose felt that it was only fair to be honest with John, especially after he’d been so honest with her. “And, I have some things I kind of want to get off my chest.”

“I’m all ears.”

Rose smiled to herself hearing that. She set the Book of Joseph down on the nightstand, and settled back, laying down a bit more, before she began to speak more openly to John. In this calm state, she found that it was easy to open up to him. She told him about the things she had done, not just the things on her record, but the general things she had done that she felt she needed to let out. John simply listened, the entire time, letting Rose say what she needed to say. Eventually, she finished, having nothing more to add, and an oddly comfortable silence fell between them, lasting for several moments before John finally decided to ask something.

“Were you planning on doing anything tomorrow?” If Rose didn’t know any better, she’d say John almost sounded nervous. It was a far cry from his usual smooth, confident tone.

“Not really. I usually just see if anyone needs an extra set of hands. Why, you planning something, Blue?”

“I just wanted to see if, well… If you’d want to meet up, maybe we could meet outside of town, I could make a lunch, and, we could just talk?” John’s words didn’t sound as practiced as they usually did. He sounded like a nervous teenager asking their crush out for the first time. It actually made Rose smile to herself.

“Just give me a time, Blue.”

“Maybe we could meet at eleven? I can get you outside of town.”

“Got it.” Rose smiled a bit, maybe this could work out. She yawned quietly, looking at the clock and finding that it was almost midnight.

“I’ll see you then.” With that, John’s end turned to merely soft static, and Rose shut off her own radio, setting it aside and settling down under the covers for the night.

Rose slept in a bit the next morning, before rising to have a light breakfast. She got cleaned up, and started on her way out of town to meet with John. As she walked, Rose couldn’t help but think about their conversation the night before. It had been unexpected, but honest, and a bit of a surprise, though Rose couldn’t find any issue with it. She’d had likely the best night’s sleep she’d had in a long time, now that a lot of things were off her mind. She got out of Fall’s End, and kept going for a while, before she came across a scuffed up, white truck with the Eden’s Gate cross painted onto the side. As she approached, she could see the driver’s face more clearly, and a smile tugged at her lips when she realized it was John, looking around and tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. He jumped a bit when Rose tapped on the passenger side window, but recovered quickly, unlocking the door so that she could climb into the truck beside him. She settled into the seat, and he started to drive away from the town.

“So, where are you planning on going?” Rose looked over at John as he drove.

“There’s a spot I know about, it’s a bit of a hike, but I think you’ll like it.” He wasn’t very specific, keeping the actual spot a surprise for when they arrived. They were both quiet for the drive, the only thing preventing full silence was the truck’s radio, playing the Project’s station.

After a while of driving, John pulled the truck off to the side of the small side road they were on, taking the keys out of the ignition and getting out, taking the cooler from behind his seat with him. He went around to the passenger side, and opened Rose’s door for her, offering a hand to help her down. She gave a smile, but instead got out of the truck herself, while John shut the door behind her. He lead her to a trail and she followed him along it, walking by his side. It wasn’t a difficult route, and it was calm and beautiful. John helped her when they came to a rocky section, offering his hand as they climbed up the rocks before coming to a flat stop, the trail ending. The view was beautiful, and the small area was shaded by a tree. John lead Rose towards a small spot, and pulled the blanket out from under the handle of the cooler, unrolling it and laying it out for them to sit on. As he worked, Rose looked out over the view they had, taking half a step back from where she was.

“Are you alright?” John looked over to Rose, seeing that she had stepped back.

“Yeah… Just, not a fan of heights,” she responded, fiddling with the hem of her flannel shirt.

“Don’t worry, I’m right here,” John gave her a gentle smile, offering a hand to her. Rose took his hand, letting him guide her to sit on the blanket under the tree. A comfortable silence fell between them as John pulled out a couple of plates from the cooler, along with the sandwiches he’d put together, and a couple of drinks. He searched through the cooler for a minute, before cursing under his breath. “ I thought I… Shit…”

“Language,” Rose teased, with a small laugh. “What’s wrong?”

“Very funny. I forgot the bottle opener.”

Rose couldn’t help but let out a soft giggle, before pulling her pocket knife from the pocket of her flannel, flipping the blade out. She took one of the bottles and checked the label, letting out a bit of a grateful sigh when she saw that the drink didn’t contain alcohol. In a swift motion, she used a divet in the knife’s blade to uncap the bottle. As John watched, Rose took the bottle he had in his hands and repeated the motion, before handing the open bottle back to him.

“Not bad,” John chuckled a bit, taking a sip from his bottle.

Rose shrugged as she collapsed the blade of her knife into the handle and tucked it away. “Not the intended use of that bit, but it works. Given, I can open a bottle with a piece of paper. Pain in the ass, but a cool party trick.”

John gave a shrug, handing Rose one of the sandwiches he’d made. “I hope you’re not allergic to anything, I forgot to ask last night.”

“No worries, here. I’m allergic to bee stings and can’t have alcohol, but that’s it.”

“Good thing I didn’t bring any bees or beer, then,” John laughed, and Rose joined him.

The pair ate their lunch, calmly chatting as they did. They were both comfortable with one another, in that moment, though John seemed to be more nervous than usual, as if he had something he wanted to get off his chest.

“You seem kinda stressed, Blue. Something on your mind?” Rose tilted her head a tiny bit in curiosity.

“I, um… I’ve got something I wanted to tell you. I was going to say it last night, but, wanted to say it in person.” John took a breath, looking at Rose, but he was unable to meet her eyes. He was quiet for a moment, before speaking again. “I think… I like you…”

Rose went completely silent, not knowing how to respond to John’s confession. She wasn’t an emotional person, she hadn’t been for a long time. Her time in prison following her second arrest had made sure of that. Normally, her emotions were simply shoved to the back of her mind, where she didn’t pay them any thought. But now, she was feeling something she hadn’t felt since she was a teenager, just starting high school. When Rose didn’t respond, John seemed to get anxious, looking away from her and picking at the blanket a bit. Biting her lip, Rose took a hand and laid it on top of John’s, finding herself unable to actually look at him.

“I, might feel the same way, Blue…” Her words were soft, and caught in her throat a bit. John smiled a bit, looking at Rose. She couldn’t meet his eyes, but he didn’t push her to. Now, it was starting to get a bit warm, as the sun shone on them, even with the shade of the tree above them. Rose slipped off her flannel, stretching a bit as she was left in just her jeans and tank-top. They sat in silence for a few moments, before Rose struck up a conversation. “You’ve got a lot of ink. Where’d you get it done?”

John looked at his forearms, smiling a little bit. “I did a lot of them myself, actually. I did most of Joseph’s, too.”

“Damn, you’ve got a steady hand, then.”

He chuckled, nodding. “I do.”

“I’ve got one, on my left shoulder. My parents just about flipped when they first saw it.”

“What is it?”

Rose smiled, turning so that John could clearly see her left shoulder. Inked into her skin was an intricate pink rose, with thin black linework. Following a curve above the rose, the phrase  _ Every Rose Has Its Thorn  _ was written in flowing script.

“It suits you, that’s for sure,” John smiled, reaching out and gently tracing the pattern with his fingers. Even with his light touch, he could feel the toned muscles under Rose’s skin.

The pair talked for quite some time, before they felt it was time to start heading back. John hadn’t exactly told anyone what he was doing when he took off, let alone where he was going, and Rose had agreed to meet up with Nick and a few others that night, and she didn’t want to risk being late for whatever reason. So, they packed up the remnants from their lunch, tucking them into the cooler, and folding the blanket under the handle, while Rose pulled on her flannel again. They walked back to the truck, still chatting and laughing occasionally. Their conversation continued the entire way back to where John had picked up Rose, and he pulled off the road, putting the truck in park.

“Wait,” John quickly said, grabbing Rose’s attention. She looked over as she felt him grab her hand. The man leaned over the center console between them, and placed a quick kiss on Rose’s cheek. After registering the action for a moment, Rose mirrored it, leaning over and planting a peck on John’s cheek, giving him a little smile before saying goodbye and getting out of the truck, a bit flustered. As John drove away, Rose remained where she was for a minute, composing herself before she made her way back to the B&B to get ready for that night. When Nick came to pick her up with Sharky and Hurk in the back seat, the three couldn’t help but notice the slight glow she had about her, and the new energy she had as she approached.

“Looks like you had a good day,” Nick observed as he watched Rose get into the passenger seat beside him.

“Yeah, I did. I’ll tell you guys about it when we meet with the others,” Rose responded, smiling brightly. Maybe Blue wasn’t so bad after all.


	10. Coming to Terms

Coming to Terms

 

Rose had told Nick and the others about what had gone on that day, keeping John's name out of her recount. They had all been glad to hear that she was forming bonds with others, despite the chaotic time in the county. She returned to the B&B late that night, and fell asleep quickly. In the morning, as she got ready for her day, Rose found herself confused about her emotions. It had been a long time since she last had feelings like this, after all. After a quiet breakfast, Rose made her way back to Jerome's church, knowing he wouldn't mind an extra set of hands to continue helping him to clean up, and that she needed to ask for some advice from the only person to actually feel like a father to her.

Once again, the church doors were open, and Rose entered without hesitation. Jerome was already at work, picking up pieces of wood from the ground. Most of the large pieces had already been handled, she had helped with finishing that the other day, and there were mostly just smaller pieces to be taken care of. Jerome was putting the pieces into a barrel that was set behind him. Rose gave a soft smile, before approaching wordlessly and starting to help him.

“How did you know I needed some extra hands?” Jerome asked gently with a soft chuckle.

“Lucky guess. With all this still to go, I felt you could use all the help you can get,” Rose responded, smiling at the Pastor. “Besides, I needed some advice, and, well, you were the first to come to mind.”

“Advice? I can try to help, then,” the Pastor smiled at her, as they picked up the pieces of wood and tossed them into the barrel. “What seems to be the trouble?”

“It’s, a little complicated, at least to me…” Rose began. “But, there’s someone I met when I first got into Hope County, and we’ve talked a few times. We had lunch together yesterday, and since then, my heart’s been all fluttery, my head’s a mess, and it feels like I’ve got butterflies in my stomach.” She sighed softly, tossing a couple of small pieces of wood into the barrel. “I just don’t know what to do…”

“Well,” Jerome started, giving a quiet chuckle. “Sounds to me, like you might be in love. If you’re looking for advice on how to move forward, well, I can’t really offer anything. Just do what feels right.”

“I don’t know what feels right, at this point. I’ve never exactly been the emotional type.” Rose sighed, turning the piece of wood in her hand over, focusing on it. “I don’t know what to do, or say, or anything, really…”

Jerome reached out, setting a gentle hand on Rose’s shoulder, causing her to look up at him. “What I do know is that all of that is completely normal. Nobody understands love, it’s something that’ll forever be a mystery. The best anyone can do is just take it one day at a time, and do what feels right in the moment.”

Rose silently nodded, and the pair continued to work. Jerome hummed hymns quietly to fill the silence, as Rose simply remained in thought. They worked through the day, stopping part way through for lunch, before returning to work. Eventually, Rose and Jerome fell into comfortable conversation, which was a welcome distraction to Rose. When evening came, they parted ways once again, and Rose made her way back to the B&B, having dinner and going up to her room. She found herself distracted as she tried to add to her journal, having a couple of lines summing up what she and Jerome had spoken about, before it simply turned into a doodle of John. With a groan, she set the journal aside, letting herself fall back from her sitting position on the bed to stare at the ceiling. After a few moments, she picked up her copy of Joseph’s book, and turned to her marked page, starting to read from her stopping point.

She had taken to writing down her thoughts in the margins to the pages as she read, noting things that stood out or that she otherwise wanted to remember. While chipping away at the book, she’d learned a fair bit about Joseph’s story, as well as what he had put in concerning his brothers. There was plenty about the Project’s beliefs, as well, which helped her a fair bit in understanding it. Rose debated turning on her radio, she didn’t know if John was trying to contact her or not, tonight. After some time, she let out a sigh, and reached for the radio, turning it on.

“Hey, Blue? You there?” Her voice was soft, almost hesitant.

“Yeah, I’m here,” John’s voice came through the speaker, and Rose smiled.

“You always up late like this?”

“Mm-hm. Usually. Insomnia, I have trouble getting to sleep.”

“I know that feeling.” Rose sighed quietly. “Yesterday was nice.”

John hummed on his end of the radio. “It was. I think it was the best time I’ve had in a long time.”

“Same here.” Rose smiled a bit, using a hair tie to keep the button on her radio pressed so she wouldn’t need to hold it. She was looking over a page of the book in front of her, and went to turn it, though the paper cut into her finger. “Ow, fuck…”

“Language,” John teased. “What happened?”

“Shut up. I got a papercut, that’s all.” She rolled her eyes, pulling a bandaid out of her backpack and wrapping it around her finger.

“Are you reading something?”

“I’ve been working my way through the book you left me when you came to the cabin.”

“The Book of Joseph; my brother’s writings. What do you think?” At the mention of Joseph’s book, John seemed to become fairly interested.

“It’s interesting, at the very least,” Rose answered. “Sheds some light on what you all believe. I’m most of the way through, actually, and, I’m going to admit, I’m actually interested in learning more about all this.”

“Well, Joseph puts together a sermon every few days, the next one is tomorrow morning, if you want to come.”

Rose thought over the offer for a moment, biting her lip. “I guess I could… I won’t have to dress up, will I?”

“Joseph would probably prefer it, but I don’t mind either way. We’ll have to meet up early to get there.”

“I’ll see what I can do, then. And I’ll be there. Same spot as yesterday?”

“Of course.”

Rose smiled a bit, yawning quietly as she marked her place in the book and shut it. “I should try to get some sleep, then. Same goes for you, Blue.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” John joked, giving a soft chuckle. “Sleep well, Rose.”

“And you.” She smiled to herself, taking the elastic off the radio and shutting it off. The book and radio were set aside, and Rose settled under her covers. As she drifted off to sleep, she found that maybe she was actually coming to terms with the fact she could be in love with John Seed himself.


	11. Uncertainties

Uncertainties

 

Rose got up early in the morning, yawning and stretching as she got out of bed. She showered and braided her hair, tucking it into one of her beanies, before pulling on the best thing she had with her; a dark set of jeans, a gray tank-top, and a flannel with a plaid pattern of pink, white, and gray. It wasn’t a flannel she wore much, but given the occasion, it seemed appropriate. She pulled on her boots, and took a deep breath, before heading out. With the early hour and uncertainty, Rose decided to skip breakfast, she could always grab something later. John was waiting for her at the same spot as he had been the other day. He smiled when Rose got into the passenger seat beside him, glad that she was willing to give the Project a chance.

“You look nice,” John observed, giving her a gentle smile as he started to drive.

“Thanks, Blue,” Rose responded. “Not looking half bad, yourself.”

The Baptist gave a soft chuckle, “I try.” He reached and turned down the radio a bit. “Do you always keep your hair tucked up under one of those things?”

“Around here? Yeah. I’ve had my hair dyed like this for a long time, so if anyone’s seen any of the pictures they put out looking for me, then they’d recognize it in no time.” She looked over at him, fiddling with her hands. “Why do you ask?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen your hair, except a few times while you were with Joseph.”

“It’s blonde, if you were wondering. The top is all my natural color, it’s the ends that are dyed.”

John gave a soft chuckle. “Was it that obvious?”

“Oh yeah. It’s surprising with you being that obvious that you were ever a lawyer.”

“Shut up.”

Rose laughed a bit, smiling a little. They were quiet the rest of the drive, coming to the compound. John parked the truck and got out, going around to open Rose’s door, offering her a hand to help her down, just as he’d done the other day. This time, Rose accepted the gesture, gently placing her hand in John’s, letting him help her down from the truck. He shut her door, and their touch lingered for a moment, before John tucked his hands into his pockets and started to lead Rose towards the small church.

Inside the small space, there weren’t many people. They were still early, and so only Joseph and a couple of followers were there. Rose entered at John’s side, their steps echoing a bit in the small space, causing Joseph to look up from the pulpit towards the sound. He smiled a small bit, coming towards the pair. Once again, the man was not wearing a shirt, his scars and tattoos on display. Now that she wasn’t bound on the floor, Rose was able to actually take in the man’s appearance. She took in the various scars, including a few she hadn’t been able to see when she first saw him shirtless, and she was able to better observe the tattoos on his chest, arms, and abdomen.

“It’s a pleasure to see you here, Rose,” Joseph smiled kindly as he greeted her, setting a hand on her arm for a second, before looking at John. “I’m going to guess that you had something to do with her actually turning up.”

“I may have invited her, but it was her choice. She said yes.” John smiled down at Rose, setting a hand on her back for a second, pulling back when he felt her tense a bit under his touch. Joseph smiled a bit, nodding in understanding. The three heard a set of heavy footsteps enter, and Rose recognized them right away, shifting to be a tiny bit closer to John. After her first and only experience with Jacob, she wasn’t a fan of the idea of being close to him.

“Looks like you got the stubborn pup in here, after all. Good job, John,” Jacob’s voice was as oddly rough and quiet as the last time they had met. He let out a chuckle when Rose inched closer to his youngest brother, and took half a step forward, looming over her.

“Leave her alone, Jacob,” John held Rose close, his hand on her shoulder, pulling her close to his side. Jacob simply shrugged, stepping away when Joseph gave a disapproving look.

It wasn’t long before more followers began to file into the small church. John lead Rose to one of the front pews, his hand still on her shoulder, despite her tense demeanor under his touch. He sat to her left, between Rose and Jacob. Rose looked towards a soft humming she heard, and spotted a young woman with light brown hair, clad in a white dress with flowers adorning it. She came close, and looked at Rose, tilting her head a small bit.

“Who is this, John?” Her voice was quiet and calm.

“Faith, this is Rose,” John answered. “Rose, this is our, sister, Faith.”

Rose gave a bit of a nod, though couldn’t find words at the moment. She was a bit overwhelmed, having not been in any sort of church service since she was in high school. Now that she was here, between John and Faith, with Jacob on John’s other side, looking towards Joseph, she had to shut her eyes and take a breath. She could hear the people around her settling into the pews, falling silent before Joseph began to speak. She could feel John let go of her shoulder, bringing his arm down to his side. They sat and listened quietly, Rose watched as Joseph spoke, pacing and waving his hands and arms as he preached.

The sermon he had put together spoke of the topics of being a part of something greater, saying that everyone was a part of something more than themselves, whether it was sin or faith. His words and tone were far different from how Rose remembered her father preaching. He had always had some undertone of superiority, especially when he felt it was something she needed to listen to. But Joseph’s words almost resonated with her; she’d certainly be thinking about what he said for some time. Rose could feel John’s hand gently brush her own, as he carefully took hold of it. She turned her hand to match the gesture, finding that the feeling grounded her as it started to feel like the walls of the small room were closing in. Despite being enraptured by Joseph’s words, her uncertainties about being in a church setting were beginning to come forward from their place in the back of her mind. When Joseph finished the prayer to conclude the service, a number of followers were vocal in their praise for the words he had spoken. He brought his hands up, signaling for them to settle before he spoke again.

“To be one with God, and with each other, we must be cleansed of our sins. Any who wish to be washed of their sins will be lead to the banks and cleansed by the waters,” he said. His voice echoed a bit off the walls of the room, before praise once again came from the followers. After those who were not going to participate left, including Faith, Joseph and Jacob lead the rest, with John and Rose included, to the water’s edge not far from the compound.

There, the water was calm and sparkling in the sun. Everybody gathered on the rocks by the water, Rose keeping back a bit as John made his way to the water, wading in until he was about waist deep. He said a prayer, before offering his hands out, inviting whoever wanted to be first to come to him. One by one, people went to the Baptist; they were held under the water, and came up gasping, but seeming relieved. Eventually, John’s eyes met Rose’s, when almost nobody remained. He reached for her, and she took a few slow steps towards the water. Her breathing hitched a small bit when she felt the water on her feet, then her ankles as she took a step further. She halted, unable to force herself any further. John’s eyes were still on her, and she could feel everyone else’s gaze on her, as well. After what felt to Rose like an eternity, she stepped back, her eyes still locked on John’s, before she turned and simply ran in the other direction, not saying a word.

Rose simply kept running until she felt she was far enough away that she hadn’t been followed. She slowed to a walk, her breathing heavy as she pulled her beanie off her head and wiped away the sweat that had formed on her brow. She had never been one for water, especially after an incident she’d had as a freshman in high school. The only way she was even able to fish was if she was on the rocks or dock, out of the water completely. Once she caught her breath, she quickened her pace, and continued on her way back to the town, pulling her beanie back over her hair. She couldn’t think, even as she got back to Fall’s End. She simply went up to her room at the B&B, pulling off her beanie and undoing her braid, sitting in front of her mirror as she hid her face in her hands. Her brain was going haywire, and she didn’t know what to do about it.

Rose stayed in her room the rest of the day, simply thinking and staring into the mirror, trying to figure out just what the hell she’d been thinking. She still hardly knew John, despite the fact she felt she could trust him; she just couldn’t be sure. Nothing felt really wrong, but nothing felt quite right, either. With a quiet sigh, Rose stared at her reflection, she usually seemed confident, but now, all she could see in herself was uncertainty. She shook her head, tying her hair into a ponytail and tucking it under her beanie again. She gathered a few things into a smaller bag she had gotten from Kim Rye, it was far easier to carry with her than her large backpack if she just went out into the woods for a day. With her bag strapped to her back, Rose made her way back out, hoping a hike would help her to clear her head.

In the woods, it was quiet and calm, and just what Rose felt she needed. She took a trail she knew lead to a secluded clearing with a large pond that was perfect to look over and just think. She had never encountered anyone there, and had no reason to expect what she saw when she arrived. There was a man by the pond, simply looking over the water, his back facing her. Even without seeing the man’s face, though, Rose knew exactly who it was. Now, she had another question in her head. What was she going to do? Jacob Seed himself was standing close enough that she could pick up any stone near her and hit him with it with a simple toss. Before she could think of what to do, though, Rose heard a growl behind her and jumped, turning around to find a white wolf with a red cross painted onto its face, eyeing her menacingly, though it didn’t attack. Rose backed away slowly, as the wolf stepped closer to her, cursing under her breath. The commotion was just enough to attract Jacob’s attention, causing the man to turn around.

“Looks like we found where John’s little pup decided to run off to,” Jacob almost sounded amused as he spoke. Rose could hear him stepping closer to her and the wolf. The wolf before her seemed to stand down with Jacob’s presence.

“What do you want?” Rose looked up towards Jacob, trying to hide the fact that being this close to him scared the hell out of her.

“I’m not going to do anything to you, this time, pup,” the Soldier tried to reassure her. “I just want to talk. But, trying to run might get my Judge here riled up, and I can’t speak on behalf of a tempted wolf.”

Rose looked down at the wolf, biting her lip. She wouldn’t be able to fight it off if it attacked her, that was for sure. With a sigh, she shrugged, tucking her hands into her pockets. “Fine, then. We’ll talk.”


	12. Building Trust

Building Trust

 

Jacob backed away from Rose a few steps, and lead the woman towards the edge of the pond. They both sat on the rocks, though Rose made a point to keep her distance from the large man. Several moments of silence passed between them, as the looked out over the water. After a long, fairly tense silence, Jacob finally decided to break it.

“Why did you run?” He didn’t look towards Rose as he asked, he simply kept looking over the water before them.

“I’d rather just tell John that,” Rose responded. She wasn’t sure of Jacob, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him something that personal.

“Is there anything you will tell me?” Jacob looked towards her.

Rose shrugged a bit. “You scare the hell out of me.”

“No shit. That’s the point of what I do. I cull the weak, train the strong.”

The woman nodded a bit, not fully sure what to say. It didn’t seem like any of the brothers actually spoke clearly, they always spoke in somewhat cryptic sentences that you needed to figure out on your own. It reminded Rose of her own parents, in a way. They rarely ever came out and said what they meant. They always left that up to whoever they were speaking to. A few beats of silence went by, before the tall man spoke up again.

“He’ll understand a lot more than you think.”

“Huh?”

“John. He’s been through a lot more than he’ll let on at first. To be honest, we all have. But, he’s also understanding. He’ll understand whatever you tell him. Just be honest with him, and who knows, he might just let you in on a few things, himself,” Jacob explained. He sounded kinder than he had when Rose was under his thumb. He sounded genuine, and he clearly knew his brother well.

“I guess it could be worth a shot,” Rose admitted. “I’ll have to talk to him at some point.”

Jacob hummed in response, looking down at the wolf that had come up beside them. It sat down, and the Soldier lightly scratched its head. They sat in silence for a time, simply letting the scenery calm them down. Rose’s head felt clearer, now. Her thoughts weren’t racing as much, and she could finally think about what had happened. After some time, Rose got up from where she sat, stretching her arms.

“I should head back to town, some of the guys are gonna be wondering where I am,” she said, looking at Jacob.

“Glad we could chat, pup,” he responded, still scratching the wolf’s head.

With that, Rose nodded, starting to head back towards Fall’s End. She took her time along the trail, simply taking in the scenery, as she normally did. As she went, she tried to run through just what she would say to John to explain why she had run off. She had never had to actually explain her problems with water to someone who didn’t know what had happened. A number of factors had lead to the issue, but she had never really had to explain it before. Though, there was always a first time for everything. When she got back to town, Rose had dinner with a few others at the Spread Eagle, before going back to the B&B. She couldn’t bring herself to radio John, she wanted to talk to him in person. She went to bed early that night, her mind still racing over how exactly she’d explain what happened.

Morning came, and Rose got out of bed, stretching and yawning as usual. She pulled on a set of clothes and brushed her hair, looking at the long dyed locks in the mirror. It had been a couple of months, now, since she’d come to Hope County, and she hadn’t cut her hair or tended to the color. The deep red was slowly fading out, and wasn’t as vibrant as it once was. Her natural color now ended around her jaw, and she ran her fingers through it. She’d kept it dyed like this for a long time, and had always worn her hair long. As she tied up her hair and tucked it under a beanie, Rose couldn’t help but think it might be time for a change. She went and had breakfast, before returning to her room and grabbing her radio. With a deep breath, she turned it on, the dial still turned to frequency thirty.

“Blue? You there?” Rose tried to sound casual, hide her nerves. A few beats passed before there was a response through the faint static.

“I’m here.” When John replied, his words sounded a bit off. It was as if John was tired, and he didn’t sound as eager to respond as he usually was when they spoke.

“I um… I was wondering if we could meet up? By the cabin, maybe? I feel like I should explain, well, yesterday…” She didn’t sound as confident as she had wanted.

“Of course. I’m on my way,” John’s response was simple and short, and the line went to quiet static as he disconnected. Rose shut off her radio, putting it into her small bag, along with a few other things, before she made her way out, heading towards the cabin she had originally been staying in when she first got to Hope County.

John was already at the cabin when Rose arrived. He was leaning against the side of the truck, arms crossed over his chest. When he spotted Rose, he straightened up and started to walk towards her, meeting her halfway. He had a faint smile when they met up, and made their way towards the rocks where they had their first encounter almost two months prior.

“You wanted to talk about what happened yesterday. I assume you mean what happened by the water,” he said, looking towards Rose.

“Yeah…” Rose sighed, rubbing at her arm. “I uh, I have some serious issues with water, to be honest.”

“That was a bit clear yesterday,” John replied. He looked over at Rose as she still rubbed at her arm, seeming a bit nervous. “How bad is it?”

“I can’t even let my feet dangle into the water,” she admitted. “Can’t even go out on a boat or anything like that, either.”

John nodded a bit, quietly taking in this new information. “Why?”

Rose looked over at him. “Hm?”

“Why are you so afraid of water?”

“It’s, a long story…”

John looked over Rose, and gently took her hand in his. “We’ll sit on the dock, alright? Away from the edge, so you’re not too close to the water, and you can tell me all about it,” he offered. Rose nodded a bit, following John out onto the wooden dock, sitting down on the sun-warmed wood beside him. “Now, what started it?”

Rose looked down at her hands, fiddling with her fingers a bit. “Back when I was little, my parents and I were on a trip with some family friends. We were all at the beach, and they were trying to teach me how to swim,” she began. “My father and I were a little ways out, where it was a bit deeper, and he was getting me to swim on my own, just with a life vest on. We didn’t realize there were a couple of sandbars there, and I ended up caught in a rip current. He tried to grab the vest, but the center strap broke, and it was too big on me, and I slipped out, and the current pulled me under…”

John listened quietly, nodding as Rose spoke. He gently set a hand on her shoulder, and she looked towards him a bit. “What happened after?”

“I don’t remember much after that… I couldn’t get above the surface, and the next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital,” she sighed quietly, having to take a deep breath. She still sometimes had nightmares of being caught up in that current. “That isn’t all that lead to this, though… There were a lot of little things that added up over time. And an incident in high school just sort of tipped it all over the edge.”

John nodded a bit, gently rubbing Rose’s back. She was tense under his touch, but he still persisted, feeling that she needed the contact more than she realized. “What happened then? You don’t need to say if you don’t want to.”

“No… You should know…” Rose took a breath, steadying herself. “It happened back in freshman year. I went to a pretty nice school, we were joint between a few different towns, two floors, sports areas, even had a swim team, with a decent pool,” she began. “I wasn’t exactly well liked around school, the one everyone either avoided or picked on because I always seemed to either be a suck up or in hot water. One day, I was taking a shortcut by the pool to get to the buses quicker and avoid the crowd. Some assholes had the idea to hide out there and saw me. They knew I didn’t do water, and decided to try to “fix” the issue.” Rose stopped, taking a breath. She held her hands together tightly, as they shook a little at the memory. “They came out, overpowered me, and pushed me into the water, right at the deep end. I tried to grab the edge of the pool, but they pushed me back, and once the floor was wet, it was too slick to grip onto… At that point, I was panicking, and I guess a couple of the teachers heard the commotion and came in. They got me out of the water, and checked out. The guys who did it all got expelled, and I got a crippling fear of water that still causes problems for me to this day.”

John was quiet for a bit, simply taking in all that Rose had said. It was clear to him that this was something she never spoke about, and it was something that still hurt to even think of. When he looked at Rose’s face, he could see a tear rolling down her cheek. Without much thought, he carefully pulled her into a gentle hug. Rose’s muscles were tense when he pulled her close, but she didn’t struggle. Before long, her arms were wrapped around his torso, her face buried in his shoulder as tears slipped from her eyes. He quietly held her, softly humming as he rubbed her back, eventually getting the woman in his arms to relax. When they finally separated, Rose wiped at her cheeks, wiping away the last of her tears, and gave a quiet sniffle.

“There’s no rush,” John told her. “We’ll cleanse you when you’re ready. Until then, we can work up to it, alright?”

“What do you mean?” Rose looked up at him, uncertain.

“I mean we’ll work up to a baptism. We’ll start small, in the shallows, just your feet, and go from there,” he explained. “And I’ll be right by your side, the entire time. I promise, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I think we can try,” her reply was soft, as she nodded a little bit. “Maybe we could start now…? I wanted to ask a favor of you.”

“What is it?”

Rose pulled her beanie off her head, and untied her ponytail, letting her long hair tumble down over her shoulders. “Could you help me cut this? I think it’s about time for a change.”

John was surprised at Rose’s question. He could tell that she loved her hair, and especially enjoyed having it long. “Are you sure? I’m no expert when it comes to this kind of thing.”

“I’m sure, I promise. I want to cut off all the red, but I won’t be able to get the back.” She seemed certain about her decision. “Maybe I could sit at the edge of the dock, just let my feet dangle in the water while you do it? I can just pull my feet back up if it’s too much.”

He smiled at her, giving a bit of a nod. “I think that sounds like a good idea. I’ll be right here with you.”

Rose nodded, taking off her small bag and tucking the beanie into it, before pulling out her comb and a handful of hair-ties, as well as a set of scissors. John took the items from her, looking them over as Rose pulled off her boots and socks, rolling up her pant legs and situating herself at the edge of the dock. John came up behind her, setting his hands on her shoulders, letting Rose know he was there as she slowly dipped her feet into the river. He quietly directed her breathing, keeping her calm until her feet were completely in the water, and she started to relax a little under his touch.

John took the comb, and ran it through Rose’s soft waves. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

“You know what I want to hear, Rose.”

She quietly giggled, rolling her eyes a bit. “Yes.”

With a smile, John took the scissors and Rose’s comb, and began to cut her hair. The red ends fell away, bit by bit as he cut. He quietly hummed as he worked, humming one of the songs that so often played on the Project’s frequency. To his surprise, Rose started to sing along to his humming, her voice quiet, but clearly there. After some time, he ran the comb through Rose’s now short hair, making sure that it was all even. All of the dyed hair had fallen into Rose’s lap and onto the wood of the dock, and left Rose with her naturally bright blonde hair.

“That should do it,” he said, running his fingers carefully through the short locks.

Rose smiled a bit, looking down at the hair that had fallen into her lap, and running her fingers through the short waves that remained. She turned, looking up at him as she brushed the hair that framed the right side of her face behind her ear. “How does it look, Blue?”

The Baptist smiled, looking at Rose for a moment, taking in her new appearance. The change was striking, but he found he enjoyed the look of Rose’s blonde hair. Finally, after looking at her for some time, he spoke. “Beautiful,” was all he said. When she looked down bashfully, John couldn’t help but gently grip her chin, turning her head towards him and placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. “And I’m proud of you.”

“Why’s that?”

“Look down.”

Rose looked down at her feet, finding that she had just about forgotten that they were simply dangling off the dock, still submerged in the water. A smile crossed her features, and it only widened when she felt John’s arms wrap around her from behind. She leaned back against him, and they remained like that for some time. When they finally parted, Rose turned to get her feet up onto the dock, John keeping her steady the entire way until she was standing. They brushed away the hair that had been cut from the dock and from Rose’s clothing, before putting everything away into her bag. The pair walked back to John’s truck after Rose put her socks and boots back on, and he drove her back towards Fall’s End, letting her out at the same place he always did, smiling as he watched her turn and wave at him before starting on her way into town. What brought him the most joy at that moment, was that Rose seemed to be starting to trust him.


	13. Taking Sides

Taking Sides

 

When Rose emerged from the B&B the next morning after breakfast, she couldn’t help but notice the excited energy that seemed to be in the air. Everyone she passed by seemed to be in higher spirits than usual, and she couldn’t help but wonder why. She arrived at the Spread Eagle, looking to see if Mary May needed an extra set of hands, and found her at the bar, along with Nick, chatting excitedly.

“What’s got everyone buzzing, today?” she asked, leaning against the bar beside Nick.

“You didn’t hear? The Junior Deputy took out a couple of silos in the valley! Got those damn Peggies scrambling,” Nick told her. He and Mary May, along with the rest of the town, seemed to be thrilled at this development. The Project had been causing chaos all throughout the county, after all.

“And they took out one of Faith’s Bliss fields, burned the whole thing to ash,” Mary added.

“I helped with that one!” Sharky exclaimed as he walked in. “You shoulda seen those Peggies runnin’!”

“Sounds like that Deputy is taking the Project down a notch,” Rose mused, trying not to seem as if she was worried about anything. Their methods weren’t exactly the best, she knew that from what everyone had described to her, and from what she’d experienced, herself. But, something about what they believed clicked with her.

“You got that right!” Sharky confirmed. “Hey, you look kinda different.”

“Hey, yeah! No hat?” Nick chuckled, looking at Rose’s hair. “Looks good.”

Rose smiled, nodding. “Yeah, thought it was time for a change, so I cut it. It’s so much easier than having it long.”

“Well, I gotta go check up on Kim. Nick Jr. could be coming any day now, and we’ve already had one false alarm,” Nick confessed, pushing away from the bar. The others bid him a good day, and he made his way out, leaving Rose, Mary May, and Sharky behind.

The three spoke for a time, and Rose and Sharky ended up lending a hand around the Spread Eagle, helping Mary May to move some things around and sure up a few things. They all had lunch part way through the day, and finished up what work was left to be done. Once everything was finished, Rose and Sharky said their goodbyes to Mary May, heading out of the bar.

“Hey, the Deputy invited me and Hurk to help out burnin’ some more Bliss and takin’ out some silos, you wanna come help out?” Sharky seemed excited about being able to burn more of the flowers, and probably a few Project members, as well.

Rose had to pause for a second. Even if she didn’t support everything the Project got up to, she wasn’t wholly against them, either. “I’d love to, Sharky. But, I’ve got some clothes I have to wash and mend, so, my night’s pretty much taken, already.” It wasn’t her best excuse, not by a long shot, but she hoped it would be enough to keep her out of things.

“Oh, okay.” Sharky smiled at her. “Maybe next time!” With another smile, the man took off, probably going to get anything he’d need for the night ready. When he was out of sight, Rose sighed, and started to make her way back to the B&B.

Rose shut the door to her room behind her, sighing to herself. At least she hadn’t completely lied to Sharky; she did actually have some things to wash and one of her shirts was torn at the shoulder. She grabbed her radio, turning it on to talk to John, hoping that he was unharmed after last night.

“John? Are you there?” she questioned over the radio, unable to hide the worry in her voice.

“Yeah, I’m here. Is something wrong?” John’s response was almost concerned, especially since Rose sounded as worried as she did.

“I heard about the Junior Deputy. They took out a couple of Project silos in the valley. I wanted to be sure you were alright.”

“I’m fine. We lost followers, but with that Deputy around, that’s nothing new.” John sighed a bit. “And they took out one of the Bliss fields. I’m not too concerned about that, though, Faith will handle it. Joseph isn’t too happy about it, though.”

“I can’t imagine he would be,” Rose chimed in.

“I mean about how Faith wants to handle this. She wants to use a more potent form of Bliss she and Feeney have been working on to try to slow them down, but Joseph think that she’s been going too far with it already,” John explained. “I’m honestly on Joseph’s side on this one. Bliss is some strong stuff as it is, and she’s been playing fast and loose with it.”

Rose nodded a bit. “I’m glad I haven’t been exposed, myself. From what the others say, it’s some nasty stuff.”

“It can be, if you’re not careful with it.”

“Hopefully this can be figured out soon. If this all comes down to taking sides, I wouldn’t know where to stand.”

“I doubt it’ll resolve quickly or easily. But, we can still hope.”

“Yeah…” Rose sighed a bit, laying back on her bed. “Stay safe out there, Blue.”

“The same to you, Rose.” John replied. His end turned to quiet static after that, and Rose set the radio aside, turning it off.

The next couple of weeks went along like this. The Deputy was gradually turning up the heat on the Project, taking out silos in Holland Valley and Bliss fields and tankers throughout the area around the Henbane River. Rose had to come up with reason after reason to not help out directly, and it was starting to raise suspicion, from what she could tell. She could only hope that things would settle down before her true reasons for not engaging were figured out. Every day, Rose would check in on John, to make sure that he was unharmed in all the chaos. And each day, she was thankful that he responded. After they both made sure the other was alright, the would talk for some time, taking their minds off what was going on around them. Then, one day, the Deputy did something bigger than either of them had expected.

“You still breathing, Blue?” Rose asked, settling on her bed to talk with John.

“I am, so are Jacob and Joseph.” John responded. He almost sounded distressed, as he spoke, and Rose couldn’t help but notice. “Faith, though…”

“What happened?”

“The Deputy happened. Some of the faithful found her in the river,” he explained, before sighing. “And the rest of the Bliss fields in the area were set on fire. Joseph isn’t happy, to say the least.”

“Oh my god… John, this is serious. For all we know, that Deputy could be after your head, next.” Rose tried not to sound too worried, but it was difficult.

“I know, I know. Jacob has his men keeping an eye out.” John reassured her. “I don’t think I’ve hoped for him to catch and cage someone more.”

Rose nodded a bit on her end. “I get the feeling he’ll find them.”

“I know. He’s good at what he does, that’s for sure.”

Rose hummed her agreement, “I’ll have to take your word, given I can’t remember shit about what he did while he had me.”

“I don’t think you want to know, right now. He’s pretty rough.”

“Yeah…” She sighed quietly. “I’ve got to head out, some of the others wanted to meet at the Spread Eagle, and Sharky wouldn’t let me turn it down, this time.”

“I get it. I need to go talk with Joseph and Jacob, we need to decide what we’re going to do about Faith,” John sighed.

“Talk to you later, Blue.”

“Stay safe, Rose.”

“Same to you.”

After their final exchange, Rose shut off her radio, tucking it and her Book of Joseph into her backpack, out of sight. Since things had become more tense, she’d decided it would be best to ensure that anything that could tie her to the Project was kept out of sight. People seemed to be taking sides, and she didn’t want to get too involved. Pulling on her flannel, Rose went to meet the others at the Spread Eagle. When she arrived, she spotted a number of familiar faces, along with a couple she didn’t really recognize, all gathered around one of the tables.

“Glad you could make it, Rosie,” Mary greeted her, setting an open soda on the bar for Rose as she came by. Rose smiled, nodding a silent thanks as she took the drink, and the two blondes settled with the others by the table.

“The Dep’s working their way through the Whitetails, now. What I think they’re planning on is to weaken the cult in Holland Valley and the Whitetails, and take out all three brothers in one go.” Whitehorse’s voice rang a bell to Rose, and it was impossible to mistake him for anyone else. Luckily, he didn’t seem to recognize her. His words sent a chill up Rose’s spine; he was clearly talking about the deputy who’d killed Faith. She had to tell John about this, and her mind was racing over how to actually do so. Before she could come up with something, though, she was pulled from her thoughts by Nick.

“Rose? You look kinda shaken, you okay?” His hand was on her shoulder. Rose hadn’t realized that her mind had wandered and she’d stopped responding to the others for some time.

“Huh? Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” she told him, blinking back to reality.

The group’s discussion went on for some time, as they tried to put together plans to keep one another safe, should anything go down, and to ensure that the Deputy was safe if any of them were by their side when they went toe to toe with the brothers. Rose attempted to seem engaged throughout the night, but her mind always tried to turn to Blue. Things were heating up, and she had no idea how far they would go. By the end of the night, everyone was starting to get ready to go, Jerome set a hand on Rose’s shoulder. At this point, she had felt that he, more than anyone else, was at least starting to catch on to the fact that she might not be all for the resistance.

“I know you’ve been trying to remain neutral in all of this, Rose,” he began. “Even playing Devil’s advocate to the Peggies, but at it’s coming time to pick a side. You’re either with us, or you’re with them. There’s not much time left for you to sit on the fence,” he urged her. Rose felt a gentle squeeze on her shoulder, before Jerome made his way out with a couple of others. Rose sighed, downing the last of her drink, setting the bottle down with a few bucks to cover the cost of the soda, before heading out, herself.

Back in her room at the B&B, Rose had gotten changed for the night, but found herself pacing the room, unable to settle her thoughts. She’d stayed neutral as long as she could, and it wouldn’t be much longer before the others started to really pick up that she might not be invested in their cause. Jerome already seemed to be catching on, and Nick seemed to be, too. If something didn’t slow down the resistance, she’d need to figure something out, fast. With her mind racing with the possibility of being exposed, Rose didn’t know what to do. Maybe it would be worth it for her to leave Fall’s End, and head back to her cabin? It would buy her time, at least, though she had no clue how much. She’d have to think up a reason to leave the town, though. She couldn’t just up and leave without saying why, it would raise too much suspicion and concern. Rose sighed a bit, sitting on the bed and pulling out her book and radio.

“Blue?” She spoke into the radio, using a hair tie to hold the button, as she usually did.

“Right here, Sunshine.” John’s voice came through the speaker.

Rose laughed a bit, “Sunshine? Where the fuck did you come up with that?”

“You gave me a nickname based off my shirt and eyes, it’s only fair I give you one based off your hair,” the Baptist laughed. “And language.”

“Shut up.” Despite her words, Rose couldn’t help but laugh a bit. “You’re such a dork, you know that?”

“Am not.”

“You are, too. Anyways, a lot of us met up, and, the Sheriff said that the Deputy might be planning to take you three out in one go. This isn’t a small matter, anymore. Everyone’s taking sides, now, and I still don’t know where I stand.”

“Stand where the ground is firmest, Rose. You’ll figure it out. I need to go, Joseph is preaching tonight, and I can’t be late. We’ll meet up tomorrow night, alright?”

“Alright.” Rose sighed quietly, turning off the radio and setting it aside. For a while, she just stared at the ceiling, thinking. She and John had never actually met up at night, always keeping things to the early morning or afternoon. He had to be planning something, but she had no idea what. All she knew as she let sleep take her, was that Hope County was officially taking sides, and she was on a fence that was about to collapse.


	14. Mounting Tensions

Mounting Tensions

 

The morning came just as any other. Rose got up, getting herself cleaned up and putting her things into her bag, out of sight. Taking a deep breath, she went down to breakfast, before going out into the town. The owners had told her Jerome might need help with something, and so she made her way there, fairly relaxed as she approached the familiar building. Her gentle smile faded when she saw the doors were closed. Usually, Jerome kept them open to let in the warm breeze, so seeing these doors closed made the woman a bit uneasy. But, she pressed on, opening one of the doors enough for her to slip in. Before she was able to turn to the room, though, she heard a voice behind her.

“Is there something you’ve been meaning to tell us, Rose?” Jerome’s voice wasn’t as gentle as it normally was. He sounded stern and cold. Rose felt herself freeze in place, hoping this wasn’t real.

“When were you gonna tell us?” A second voice, Nick’s voice, sounded off. He was closer to her than Jerome was, and she could hear his boots coming closer to her when she still didn’t turn around. “When were you gonna tell us that you’re a fucking  _ Peggie _ ?”

“I… No, I’m not…” Rose could hardly speak the words as she turned around. Nick was close to her, within arm’s reach, and he looked down at her, his eyes unreadable behind the dark aviators he wore.

“It’s no use denying it, Rose. We heard you with Seed over the radio,” Nick practically spat his words, probably glaring at her from behind his glasses.

“We heard you warn him, Rose. You can’t deny it,” Jerome cut in. “It’s no use, unless you can explain yourself.”

“I’ve been talking with John, I’m not going to deny that. But you don’t have the whole picture,” Rose backed away from Nick, her back pressing against the door behind her.

“Then what  _ is _ the full picture? Because all I see is a traitor.” It was clear that Nick was holding himself back. Rose would need to be careful if she wanted to get out of this the way she wanted.

“Let her explain, Nick. She must have a reason.” Jerome spoke calmly, setting a hand on the pilot’s shoulder.

Rose took a breath, thinking over her words carefully, before speaking. “I’ve been getting close to him to get information you guys can use against the Project.”

“You are?” Nick seemed surprised, even if Rose couldn’t see his eyes, she was sure they were widened with his shock.

“Yeah! We’re meeting up tonight, and I’m gonna see what I can get out of him.” Rose did her best to seem certain, forcing herself to maintain eye contact as she spoke. Nick backed off, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You get us that info, and we’ll let you off the hook. This time.” Nick’s voice was low as he spoke. “Get whatever you can off that bastard Baptist, and get it to Whitehorse. If you duck out on us, then he’s gonna be after you. Can’t have a traitor running around knowing what we’re all up to, after all.”

“God it, Nick.” Rose gave a nod, looking up at him. The pilot looked her over, before nodding curtly and pushing his way passed her, leaving the church and letting the door shut behind him.

“I’m glad that you have a reason for all of this, Rose,” Jerome said, setting a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I knew you wouldn’t turn your back of us like that.”

“Of course, Jerome. I wouldn’t turn my back on you guys.” Rose gave him a smile, though her heart was pounding in her chest. She knew that she was digging herself into a hole, and had no idea how deep that hole would end up.

Jerome smiled at her, and motioned for her to come with him, to lend a hand in cleaning up again. They were both quiet as they worked, Jerome not having anything to say, and Rose being too caught up in what she’d just gotten herself into to speak. They took a break for lunch, and went on to continue cleaning up Jerome’s church, still hardly speaking. Rose’s mind was racing, and her heart was pounding still in her chest. She felt sick to her stomach, but forced herself to put on a brave face until she left Jerome for the evening, going to her room at the B&B, where she sighed heavily, kicking herself mentally.

“This is insane…” she mumbled to herself, gathering her things into her backpack. “Alright, I’ll check out, head back to the cabin. If anyone asks, I’ll say it’s so he and I can talk more openly. Yeah, yeah, that’ll work.” Rose spoke to herself, as she checked and double-checked all her things. It was still fairly early in the evening, so she could check out and make it to the cabin before dark. She could only hope that her plan would work out when she spoke to the B&B owners, and paid a fair price for her stay there. The woman made her way out of Fall’s End, and followed the familiar path towards the cabin, making sure that nobody followed her up.

When it was starting to get dark, Rose made her way to where she and John always met. She didn’t contact him, not wanting to risk having the others find out that she had left town just yet. Luckily, their usual meeting spot was somewhere between the cabin and Fall’s End, though she approached from the opposite direction, causing John to jump when she tapped at the window before climbing into the truck.

“Don’t you usually come from the other way?” John looked towards her as she settled into the seat.

“Yeah. But we’ve got an issue. I’m back at the cabin,” Rose told him.

“An issue? What kind of issue?”

“Nick and Jerome heard us last night. I don’t know why they were on thirty, but they were. They know I warned you about the Deputy,” Rose rattled off. “Now, they think I’m just getting close to get information from you about the Project, and want me to feed it to them so they can plan around what you guys are doing.”

“Shit… No more chatter on thirty, then. I’ll set up a different frequency, and we’ll have to keep off as much as we can,” John sighed, starting to drive down the road. “I’ll get you some false info for them tonight, keep them off you. For right now, though, there’s something I need to show you.”

“What is it? I need to get my mind off today.”

“You’ll see, Sunshine.”

Rose laughed a bit, sitting back in her seat. The truck’s radio was playing quietly, and John hummed along with it. They drove for some time, up winding dirt roads until they got to a clearing, where John parked the truck. He got out, and opened Rose’s door a moment later, offering his hand to help her down, and she accepted.

“This is what you wanted to show me?” She asked, looking up at the large sign they were parked under. The three pieces were large, and spelled out the word “YES”.

“Not quite. I know you aren’t a fan of heights, but I promise, I’ll be right there. You won’t fall,” Blue’s voice was reassuring, as he took a few steps towards a ladder not far from them. Rose looked up at the ladder, trying to see where it lead, and found it only lead up, to the top of the letter E. Swallowing hard, she nodded, making her way over to John.

John had Rose go ahead of him on the ladder, ensuring her that he would be there for her if she got nervous or slipped. The full moon shone down on them as they climbed, slowly making their way to the top of the ladder. Rose arrived at the top, finding a blanket laid out on the landing. John came up behind her, and took her hand.

“Close your eyes for a moment.” He instructed her. Rose took a breath, and did as he said, shutting her eyes. She could feel John lead her forward, and gently tug her down so that she was sitting on the blanket. Once they were settled, John wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, before speaking again. “Take a look.”

A soft gasp left Rose as she opened her eyes. Down below them, a dark expanse of forest and roads, with farmland and buildings that looked like toys dotted around. Though what caught Rose’s eye wasn’t what was below them. It was the expanse of dark sky, lit up by a full moon and stars, as far as you could see. With the lack of light pollution where they were, the sight was enough to take her breath away. She was silent, simply taking in the view. After a long silence, John finally spoke.

“What do you think?” He asked, looking over at Rose.

“It’s… God, it’s beautiful…” Rose’s voice was little more than a whisper, though her awe was clear.

John gave a quiet chuckle. “I knew you’d like it. There’s not a view quite like this anywhere else in Hope County. It’s the perfect place to come and just let everything else be forgotten for a while.”

“You’re right about that… This is just what I needed after today.”

“Me too. I come up here when I can’t sleep. When we talk, a lot of times, this is where I am.” John admitted. He lay down on the blanket, gently tugging Rose down with him, so that she lay close to his side.

“Thank you, Blue.” Rose whispered, after letting a few moments of silence go by.

“For what?” John looked at her, a bit confused.

“For being someone I can trust, and talk to, and for getting me to believe that maybe I’m actually worth something to someone.” Her words were chosen carefully, and she sounded both sure and unsure of what she was saying, as if she wanted to believe it, but found it all a surprise.

“I should thank you, too,” John told her.

“What for?”

“For trusting me.” He smiled gently, propping himself up on one elbow. Rose felt his hand come to her cheek, turning her head towards him, and she looked up into his clear blue eyes. John gave her a gentle smile, before leaning in close, shutting his eyes as he softly kissed her. The action was a bit hesitant, and didn’t last long before he pulled back, eyes not meeting Rose’s. Rose looked at him for a moment, before propping herself up in the same way John was, turning his head to her with her free hand. She mirrored his action, her hand finding his cheek to get his attention, before she shut her eyes, pulling him into a tender kiss. John wrapped an arm around the woman, pulling her close as their kiss continued, soft but passionate. Rose was surprised by how soft John’s lips turned out to be, and she hardly minded the tickle and scratch of his beard.

Time seemed to stand still, until they finally separated, drawing deep breaths. They were both thankful for the dim lighting, so the other couldn’t see the blush that had spread over their cheeks. John lay back down on the blanket, and Rose followed, tucking herself close to his side as the man wrapped an arm comfortably around her shoulders. They remained for what felt like ages, simply enjoying one another’s company and stargazing. Finally, John decided it was time for them to head back down to the truck, and figure out what information Rose would feed to Whitehorse. They got up, and John folded the blanket, tucking it into a locked box, so that the weather wouldn’t ruin it, before they started making their way down the ladder to the ground.

John drove Rose to her cabin, and they determined that she would tell Whitehorse that the Deputy would be catching Jacob by surprise, making him an easy target to work towards. Meanwhile, John would inform Jacob of what could be coming, so that the Soldier could form a plan before things went too far. Once they arrived back at the cabin, the couple shared another kiss, this one shorter than the last, but just as tender and passionate, before Rose got out of the truck, heading up the porch steps. She watched as John drove away, hoping that they had found a way to circumvent the mounting tensions, at least for the time being.


	15. Ruse

Ruse

 

Rose started out early in the morning, making her way towards the Hope County Jail. She was running through what she would say in her head the entire way there, trying to ignore how sick to her stomach she felt. She had evaded law enforcement before, even lied right to their faces, but the stakes had never been this high. If she slipped up, she would probably be dead by sundown. Each step she took, she ran through the possibilities in her head, what could happen and what she would do in response. When she ran out of scenarios, Rose sighed, her mind turning to last night. She hadn’t been afraid up on that sign, not when she was by John’s side. She could still feel his lips on her own if she thought about it. Whenever they were together, the world seemed to stand still. But, she didn’t have time to think about all that, now, as she approached the jail.

It took some careful words to get inside, but she was eventually let in without issue. As she walked in, she spotted Grace Armstrong. The sniper was talking with another woman who had a hood on, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. They didn’t pay Rose much mind as she walked by, asking someone there where she could find Whitehorse. She was lead to an office not far off, and ushered inside, the door being shut behind her. In the office, Whitehorse was sitting at the desk, a female Deputy was by the door, and Nick stood in the corner behind Whitehorse, his arms crossed over his chest.

“I was starting to think you weren’t gonna show,” Nick told her, watching as the woman sat down in the folding chair across from the Sheriff’s desk.

“You didn’t give me a time, you know.” Rose retorted, looking up at the man.

“You weren’t at the bed n’ breakfast. They said you checked out, we were about to go trackin’ you down,” the Sheriff cut in. “Mind tellin’ us just where you’re staying, now?”

“There’s a little cabin by the river. I’m staying there, for now. A little distance from town will probably make it easier to meet up with Seed to get info for you guys,” Rose told him.

“I guess that’s fair. Good thinking,” Whitehorse mused. “What’d you find out?”

“Even with Faith down, Jacob doesn’t seem to be too worried. He isn’t suspecting much of a fight, right now. It’d be a good idea for the Deputy to go after him first. Once one brother goes down, they’ll be on high alert, anyways. Might as well take out the biggest first; Jacob’s basically their head of security for the Project, got the most resources and men to throw at the Deputy.” Rose put on her best act, telling the Sheriff what she and John had come up with. She could only hope that John was telling his brother the same sort of story, so he could seem like he wasn’t expecting what was about to hit him.

“That’s it?” Nick interjected. “All you could get was that Jacob isn’t worried? Going down on him now would be a death wish. He’s still got too many people to call in.”

“If Jacob isn’t worried, the others probably aren’t, either. And, the more relaxed they are, the easier it’ll be to chip away at their forces to get at them,” Rose told him. “That’s what I’ve got, take it or leave it.”

“It’s something to work with, at least,” Whitehorse mused. “If the Deputy can take down some of Jacob’s forces and get at him, John and Joseph won’t have him to fall back on for people to throw at them.”

“Exactly!” Rose threw a hand up, leaning forward in her seat. “Your Deputy doesn’t have to go full-force just yet. They can pick off the outposts in the area, and make their way towards Jacob, before landing the final blow to him.”

“Sounds like a plan.” The Sheriff stood, holding his hand out for Rose to shake. The woman mirrored his actions, firmly shaking the man’s hand. Nick shrugged, making his way towards the door and opening it, walking out of the office. Rose started to follow, before Whitehorse called after her. “Hey! Everyone says you’re always walkin’ everywhere. We’ve lost a few people, one of their cars is still here, keys and everything. Take it. It’ll make life a little easier for you.” The man took a set of keys and tossed them to Rose, who caught them easily.

“Thanks, Sheriff. I appreciate it,” she said, giving him a nod, before walking out. Rose sighed as she left the office, looking at the key in her hand, turning it over absentmindedly as she walked out of the jail, pressing one of the buttons to help locate the vehicle.

The car the key went to wasn’t too bad. It was a pretty standard car, clearly a few years old, with beat up, dark blue paint. She got into the vehicle, sighing a bit, glad she wouldn’t have to always walk everywhere. Some of the distances she was covering on a nearly daily basis were long, and even having adjusted to the level of activity, her legs were constantly aching. She buckled into the seat, put in the key, and turned it. The car’s engine came to life easily, and the gauge showed that there was nearly a full tank of gas. Smiling to herself, Rose drove off, heading back towards the cabin.

As she pulled up the dirt driveway to the cabin, Rose spotted John’s truck there. She smiled brightly, parking beside his truck and getting out, heading to the porch and heading inside. John was sitting at the table, just like he’d been when she first found him in her cabin, reading off her arrest records. The man smiled when she walked in, standing from his seat and walking towards her.

“Did they buy it?” He asked, getting right to the point.

“Yeah. Nick was skeptical, but Whitehorse bought it, easy.” Rose told him. “The Deputy’s gonna be chipping away at Jacob’s forces for now.”

John nodded a bit. “I told Jacob that he could expect the Deputy causing trouble. He’s gonna hold back for now, and see what he can do face to face with them. I know he’s a soldier, but I’m still hoping he’ll come out of this.”

“He will, Blue. You three are tough as nails, and that goes double for Jacob. You’ll handle this, I know it.” Rose looked up at John, reassuring him as he pulled her close to his body.

“I hope you’re right.” John sighed, resting his chin on the top of Rose’s head.

“I’m sure things will be alright.” Rose smiled a bit, letting her head rest against John’s chest. The man was a good head taller than she was, making it easy for them to embrace like this. They remained like that for a few moments, before John pulled away.

“I was thinking we could try to get you in a little deeper, today? While I’m here, might as well try, right?” He offered, his hands still on her shoulders.

“I guess so. It can’t hurt to try, at least,” Rose agreed. John smiled a bit, leading Rose down to the river.

The area they got to was shallow with a gentle current, to hopefully keep Rose calm. They both took off their shoes and socks, rolling up the legs of their jeans. John stepped into the water first, wading in up to his shins. He held out his hand for Rose, and she took it, taking a breath as she stepped into the water, letting it run over her feet. She stayed where she was for a moment, simply standing ankle-deep in the river. John didn’t force her further, letting the smaller woman take her time. Eventually, she took another step, the water starting to reach her shins. She squeezed John’s hand, not letting her brown eyes leave his blue ones for even a second.

“It’s alright. You’re doing well, Rose,” John reassured her. “I want you to take one more step towards me, alright? Just one more. I know you can do it.” Rose took a breath, looking into John’s eyes as she willed herself to take another step closer to him. He smiled at her, taking a small step back. “And again.”

“John, I don’t know if I can…” Rose didn’t sound sure as she spoke, her grip on John’s hand tightening a bit.

“I know you can. This is the last one, I promise. Just one little step, right to me.”

Rose bit her lip, looking at John, before turning her gaze down to the water. John carefully took his free hand and gently held her chin in his hand, bringing her head back up to meet his gaze again.

“Don’t look down, keep your eyes on me, Rose. Eyes on me,” he urged her. He smiled as Rose took another step towards him, the water now most of the way up her shins, nearing her knees. “There you go, that’s it,” John smiled, clearly proud of her. He wrapped his arms around Rose’s waist, pulling her close to him.

“I guess this isn’t so bad.” Rose smiled up at him, thankful to be in his arms.

“See? I knew you could do it.” John hugged her close, tilting her head up before gently kissing her for a moment.

The couple remained in the water for some time, actually walking through the water for a bit before returning. Rose was more relaxed, now, holding John’s hand as they walked. They eventually got out of the water, sitting on the rocks by the river for a bit, before they pulled on their socks and shoes, heading back to the cabin.

“I have a cooler in the truck, thought I’d bring you some things, considering the short notice of you coming back here,” John told her. “I can go get it, and we can put things away.”

“Thanks, Blue. That sounds like a good idea.” Rose agreed, smiling a bit. They got the cooler out of John’s truck and brought it inside, working together to put away the produce and bread John had brought her. Stored properly, they would last her for a fair time.

The pair relaxed after things were put away, simply chatting and enjoying being with one another. They talked and laughed, and Rose found herself nestled close to John’s side, wrapped in his arms, letting her fingers lazily trace over some of his tattoos. They were both calm, simply relaxing with one another.

“Joseph is preaching again, tonight,” John told Rose, sounding casual about it.

“Yeah? You asking me to go with you, Blue?” She responded, looking up at him.

“If you want to.”

“What time?”

John checked the watch on his wrist, thinking for a second before he answered, “We’d need to leave in an hour and a half.”

“Well, I didn’t make plans with the others, so I’m free. Why not.” Rose smiled a bit at him. Even though she was still skeptical, Rose had to admit that Joseph had a way with words, just like John did. The way he said things made her think, and she didn’t mind it one bit. She went back to tracing John’s tattoos with her fingers, smiling a bit. “Some of these are really nice.”

“I’m pretty proud of some of them.” John smiled, simply watching Rose’s fingers trace over the patterns inked into his skin. His free hand traced over Rose’s tattoo absentmindedly. “Do you have any others?”

“No, just that one. I have sketches of others I’d consider getting, but just haven’t done it.”

“Can I see them? If you’re willing to share.”

Rose smiled a bit, getting up from her spot by John’s side and going over to the small bedside table, picking up the journal that sat there. She flipped through a few pages as she walked over, making sure there were no entries mixed in with the drawings that she wouldn’t want John to see. When she settled back by his side, she offered the book to him, open to a page of small doodles of various different things. There were roses, lighthouses, butterflies, among sketches of landscapes, buildings, and even a few firearms. John turned the page, finding more of these drawings, and smiled.

“You’re quite an artist,” he told her, still looking over each doodle and sketch.

“Thanks. I took up drawing when I was pretty young, even got escorted home after the cops found me spraying graffiti in an abandoned house that was set to be torn down.” Rose laughed a bit at the memory. “God, my parents were pissed when they saw me at the door with an officer over my shoulder. Couple weeks later, they had be putting up a mural in my father’s church. Constructive outlet for it, y’know? Wonder if it’s still up…”

John chuckled a bit. “I took up art to occupy my mind when I was younger. Moved on to tattoo work after deciding to take some lessons around the end of my time in law school.”

“Cool.” Rose smiled, before indicating one of the more refined doodles. This one was similar to a handful of others, just simple chains. “I’m considering working with something like this for a future tattoo.”

“Chains?”

“Yeah. Not sure why, but I wanna work some kind of meaning into it. I dunno, maybe someday.” Rose shrugged a bit, taking the journal and shutting it, setting the small book aside. The pair sat together for a while longer, chatting about artwork and tattoos for some time, before John checked his watch again.

“We should get going, if we want to be on time.” He suggested, starting to stand once Rose got up.

“Sounds like a plan. Do you have any idea what Joseph will be preaching about?”

“Last he told me, he was planning a sermon on loyalty.” John chuckled a bit as they walked out to his truck. Rose followed him, unsure if she was shocked or amused by the topic Joseph would be discussing. It was on her mind the entire way to the compound, but it was too late to back out, now.


	16. Loyalties

Loyalties

 

The pair arrived at the compound, and John parked the truck, going around to help Rose down, as he always did. They walked into the church, side by side, their steps echoing a bit in the small space. Joseph was already there, shirtless as he looked over his notes. When he heard them approach, the man looked up, giving a bit of a smile at seeing the pair before going back to his notes. Rose sat with John in the front pew, holding his hand. A few moments went by, and they could hear Jacob enter, approaching them and taking a seat at Rose’s other side. Despite her growing comfort with the eldest brother, Rose was still nervous around the large man, and she shifted a little closer to John’s side.

“He’s not going to do anything, not while I’m here,” John whispered in her ear, before placing a gentle peck on her cheek. His words and actions got Rose to relax a bit, taking a breath. Behind them, followers filed into the small church, settling into the pews. There was a quiet chatter as they all settled in, eventually falling silent when Joseph cleared his throat, stepping out from behind the pulpit.

“My children,” he began, once the small space fell into silence. “Loyalty. A virtue many value, and yet, a quality many struggle to maintain.” As Joseph spoke, he looked over at Rose, focusing on her through the yellow lenses of his aviators. “The Lord expects us to be loyal to Him and to His word. We are expected to follow, to respect, and to obey Him, no matter the circumstance. And, as we are to be loyal to God, we are also to be loyal to each other. Nobody saved will be left behind.”

Joseph continued to speak, pacing and gesturing as he did. It was clear to Rose that he had been planning on her being there. Each word he spoke, though directed to the entire congregation, was intended for her. He spoke for quite some time, to where Rose lost track of time. Finally, he wrapped up the sermon, saying, “When the world falls, and the Collapse comes, we must all decide where our loyalties lie.” Following this, Joseph dismissed the congregation, and chatter and praise rose from them as they slowly filed out of the small building. Eventually, it was just Joseph, Jacob, John, and Rose still left inside.

“Pretty fitting message, Joseph. Especially considering this one,” Jacob stated, nodding towards Rose.

“It was fitting for all in attendance. Every member of our flock must remember to stay loyal to the Project, and to God,” Joseph told his older brother. Jacob simply shrugged at the response.

“Jacob, John, if you don’t mind, I would like to speak with Rose. Alone.” Were Joseph’s next words. Jacob merely shrugged, getting up from where he sat and leaving the small church. Rose looked up at John, squeezing his hand a bit, unsure about being left alone with Joseph.

“You’ll be okay. I’ll be right outside, don’t worry,” the youngest brother reassured her, gently squeezing her hand before getting up and starting to step away. Rose stood as John did, letting her hand linger in his until he moved too far away to reach. She watched as John left, only turning to Joseph once the church doors had shut behind the Baptist.

“John told me about your situation with the residents of Fall’s End,” Joseph began. “I need to be sure that you won’t turn against the Project.”

“If I turn against you, the Sheriff will have my head. Blue has my records, I’m not some reckless dumbass,” Rose responded, looking up at the tall man.

“It would seem we still have some work to do with your language,” the Father sighed. “You wouldn’t have reason to turn against either the Project or your friends, resistance. But you cannot keep this up forever. Sooner or later, you will need to pick a side.”

“You think I don’t fucking know that? Either way, I’m gonna be screwed, it’s not like this is an easy choice.”

“I never said that it would be. But the fence you find yourself on is on unstable ground. You need to make a choice, or you will be caught in the crossfire.”

Rose sighed, running a hand through her hair. She knew Joseph was right, that things were heating up, and she would be caught in the middle if she didn’t choose between the Project and the Resistance. If she sided with the Resistance, she knew full well that John likely wouldn’t hesitate to disclose her records to them. With the Project, she would have the entire Resistance, including the friends she’d made, after her for being a traitor. Nick’s words from the other day still echoed in her head,  _ When were you gonna tell us that you’re a fucking Peggie _ . The anger, almost malice in his voice still shook her. Rose shut her eyes, taking a breath to try to calm her nerves. She backed up a bit, sitting back in the front pew.

“It’s all about loyalty, now, Rose. You need to decide who you will be loyal to,” Joseph was calm, but it didn’t feel like the same calm that usually accompanied his presence. This felt more like the calm before a vicious storm, rather than the calm that came with a warm, peaceful day. With her eyes shut, she could hear the Father slowly walking away.

“I know. I know…” Rose sighed, holding her head in her hands. She heard the church doors open and shut, and she was left in silence. The woman didn’t know how long she sat on her own in the empty, silent church before John came in. She hardly even noticed when the man sat beside her on the pew, before carefully pulling her into a hug close to his chest.

“You’re alright, Rose…” he mumbled to her, gently rubbing her back. He gently tilted Rose’s head up to look at him, and he carefully wiped away the tears that were making their way down the female’s cheeks. She hadn’t even noticed that she had started to cry.

They sat quietly, with John simply comforting the woman at his side. After some time, John quietly began to sing one of the hymns that often played on the Project’s station. A few lines in, Rose joined him, and they simply sang together, as Rose pulled herself back together.

“Better?” John asked, once they finished the song.

“Yeah. I don’t know what happened…” Rose sighed a bit, before looking up at the Baptist.

“It’s alright,” John reassured her. “Why don’t we head to the ranch, I’ll make us some dinner, and we’ll just relax. How does that sound?”

“I like the sound of that,” Rose smiled a bit, standing with John. As they walked out, they held hands, Rose keeping close to the man’s side. They got into John’s truck and he started to drive them towards his ranch, somewhere Rose hadn’t been, before. What was there when they arrived seemed to put John on edge.

At the ranch, there was a red truck parked haphazardly in the driveway. Right when John saw it, he seemed to be tense. Rose hadn’t seen him like this before, and he didn’t say anything as he pulled up, parking by the side of the road. They could see lights around the ranch from their spot on the road, and John took a breath. He took the key out of the ignition, and unbuckled his seatbelt wordlessly, turning in his seat, and pulling an AR-C from a case behind the seats.

“They’ve got to be Resistance. I’ve got guys all around here, keeping watch, but this doesn’t feel right,” he said. “This could get rough. Got a gun on you?”

“Always,” Rose answered, pulling her 1911 from the shoulder holster she always wore under her flannel. She checked that the weapon was loaded, and took a deep breath.

“Keep close,” John suggested, before getting out of the truck. Rose unbuckled herself, and got out, as well, following John as they approached the ranch house.

“I know how to go into a situation like this, Blue. I was in on the city scene for a while, after all,” Rose whispered to John as they crouched by a stack of cases with the Project’s cross painted on them.

“Stay here, and don’t do anything crazy. I mean that,” John whispered back, before taking off on his own, leaving Rose behind as he went to scope things out.

Rose sighed, staying crouched where she was. She’d had combat training back while she was in the service, and had used it while she lived in the city for a time. She knew how to navigate a situation like this. But, Blue hadn’t given her time to argue, so she stayed put, hoping that nobody would recognize her. The woman looked over her shoulder, checking behind her with her gun at the ready, but whipped around when she heard gunfire in the other direction. Hardly stopping to think, she found herself making her way towards the source of the noise.

The gunfire lead Rose to a hangar on the property, where there was a volley going on outside the door. She found a set of cases and crouched behind them for cover, letting off a couple of shots as a distraction and warning, not aiming directly for anybody. She heard one man go down following a few shots, though had no idea what side they had been on. There was a heavy shuffle behind her, and she whipped around, striking a resistance member in the process. They let out a yell, and Rose backed up from them, still trying to keep behind the cases for cover from the gunfire that was slowly dying down. Despite her efforts to remain hidden, the female had to stumble back further, losing her balance in her low position, coming into view of the others around the hangar.

“Rose?!” Nick’s voice cut through the tense atmosphere, as the gunfire seemed to halt completely.

“Nick? What the hell are you doing here?!” Rose returned, coming to a stand.

“I should be asking you the same thing!” Nick responded, as a number of other Resistance members stood from their cover, along with a couple of the Project’s faithful. Rose didn’t have a response for this. She hadn’t anticipated the Resistance to make a move like this in the Valley, not when Rose had said their best bet would be in the Whitetails. But, here she was, face to face with Nick, as Sheriff Whitehorse himself followed the actions of several others, coming out from cover.

“I was… I was just here, to…” Rose stammered, unable to put together an excuse that would keep her afloat with members of the Resistance and the Project. Anything she came up with would screw her one way or the other, so she simply stammered her words, before falling silent.

“We don’t have time for this,” Whitehorse interjected. “Nick, do what you need to. The rest of us’ll handle things here.”

Nick gave a nod. “Rose, you’re with me,” he told the female, walking by her. She hesitated for a moment, though when she noticed the others searching around for the remaining faithful who had slipped away during their exchange, she decided to follow the man.

The pilot made his way into the hangar, where there were surprisingly no faithful to stand guard. The gunfire outside indicated that they were likely preoccupied with the Resistance members who had come with Nick and Whitehorse. Inside the building, they found a yellow HP Series floatplane. Nick let out a laugh, walking by the craft’s side and running his hand along one of the pontoons. He hurried to the door controls and got the hangar door to open, before making his way back over to the plane.

“Get in the plane, Rose,” Nick commanded, stepping up onto the pontoon.

“What?” Rose practically froze at the command. She’d been on top of John’s YES sign, sure, but in a plane? There was no way in hell.

“Get in the plane, we gotta go!” The pilot looked back towards where Rose stood, seeing she hadn’t moved an inch.

“You go! I’ll help keep them off you!” She told him, trying her best to hide the fear in her voice. Her 1911 was still in her hand, after all. Nick shook his head, mumbling a string of curses as he climbed up into the plane, checking a few things before starting it up. The woman watched as he maneuvered the plane out of the hangar and out to the runway, keeping an eye out until he was no longer in her field of view.

With a sigh, Rose simply slumped down against the wall, setting her gun down beside her. She shut her eyes, taking a few breaths, hoping to steady her shaking hands. The gunfire outside slowly died down, but for several long moments, Rose couldn’t bring herself to stand up again. This had been far too close for comfort, and for her, saying that meant a lot. Finally, when it was silent outside, the female finally stood, 1911 in hand as she made her way outside. There were bullet and shell casings littering the ground, along with a number of bodies, the remains of Resistance and Project members alike. As she walked around the carnage, Rose was almost numb, unable to really think about what she was seeing. All she wanted to do was find John, to know that he was fine.

Finally, she made her way into the main house, finding that the rest of the remaining resistance members had left, and that only a handful of Project faithful remained. Rose had to stop as she entered, taking in the space. Despite the large size of the room, it was cozy, and her attention was drawn right away to the large fireplace. The space was adorned with taxidermied game and Project banners, and in general brought her a sense of awe. She roamed through the building, eventually finding John in a bathroom, attempting to take care of a wound in his upper right arm.

“Blue?” She asked, careful not to startle him too much as she stood in the doorway.

“Rose? Thank god you’re okay…” John sounded relieved that Rose was unharmed. “I need some help, took a shot to the arm.”

Rose nodded, coming closer as John took off his vest and went about unbuttoning his shirt. The right sleeve was stained with blood, and John sighed when he tossed it aside. With the Baptist now shirtless in front of her, Rose got to work, taking the man’s hand and getting him to sit down on the edge of the tub, before looking for a first aid kit. She found what she was looking for under the sink, and she opened it up on the counter, pulling out a wipe to clean the wound with. Sitting next to John, she opened the packet that contained the wipe, and pulled it out, unfolding the small square and starting to carefully wipe at the skin around the wound.

“There’s an exit wound, so at least you don’t have a bullet in your arm,” she mumbled. “And the bleeding isn’t too bad, either. I’m just going to clean it up, bandage it, and we’ll see how it does. Looks like it was a fairly small caliber, so you won’t need to be stitched up.”

“You know what you’re doing, huh?” John questioned, watching as Rose cleaned the entry and exit wounds in his arm. He was curious, but also clearly trying to ignore the sting.

“Yeah. Took a first aid course while in the service, and being in the city exposed me to a lot of this kind of thing. I mostly know what I’m doing,” she answered. Once John’s wounds were as clean as she could get them, she tossed the wipe into the trash, and grabbed some gauze pads and bandages, setting the pads over the wounds and dressing them. The dressing process was fairly quick, and the result was secure. “There, that should do.”

Now that they were able to calm down, Rose took in John’s shirtless torso properly. His muscles were toned, as she’d expected, and he had various tattoos up his arms, and a handful on his back. The ones that drew her attention most though, were a large Eden’s Gate cross that covered his left shoulder, and a set of justice scales over his right shoulder blade. Like his older brother, John also had a number of words carved into his torso. He had the SLOTH scars on his chest, but also had PRIDE above his left hip, partially obscured by the waist of his pants, and VANITY was clearly visible along the right side of his ribs. Rose decided not to ask about them for the time being, she was simply glad that John wasn’t injured any worse than he was.

“Now,” John started, breaking the silence. “How about I make us some dinner? The others are taking care of the grounds.”

Rose nodded a bit, giving a bit of a smile. She followed John out of the bathroom, waiting for him as he got a fresh shirt from his bedroom. When he emerged, he was tucking the dark blue T-shirt into the waist of his pants, and he lead her towards the kitchen. The Baptist had Rose sit down at the table, and made them a simple dinner, which they ate in relative silence. After they had finished, the pair moved to a fairly plush sofa that was tucked away, and settled there to relax for a bit.

“Where did you go? I thought I told you to stay under cover,” John finally broke the silence, looking over at Rose.

“I heard the gunfire pick up, and I couldn’t just stay there,” Rose confessed. “I ended up being confronted by Nick and the Sheriff outside the hangar. Nick took the plane in there, tried to get me to go along with him… I said I’d keep the heat off him while he got out.”

“You were afraid to go up in the plane, weren’t you?”

“Yeah.”

John carefully hugged Rose for a moment, placing a gentle kiss on her head. “It’s alright. I’m just glad you didn’t get hurt.”

“This was too close… I won’t be able to keep this act up for long, Blue…” Rose sighed, letting her head rest against the man’s chest, listening to his heartbeat.

“You’ll figure it out, Rose. I know it,” the Baptist reassured her. They sat in silence for a while longer, with John letting Rose simply listen to his heartbeat. Finally, after they had both calmed down and relaxed, they decided that it was about time for Rose to return to the cabin. John drove her there, though they took his personal car, rather than the white Project pick-up he’d been driving. The drive back was quiet, aside from the music coming through the radio.

When the pair arrived back at Rose’s cabin, she was relieved to find that there was nobody else there. With a kiss, the two bid one another goodnight, and Rose got out of the car. She watched as John drove away, and made her way back inside, getting changed and heading to bed. Sleep was anything but restful, though, as her mind was occupied by the issue at hand. Resistance, or Project; which one would she choose? Which side would she be loyal to? For now, she had no idea.


	17. Discovery

Discovery

 

A little over a week went by following the incident at John’s ranch. Every couple of days, Rose and John would meet up, and discuss what she would tell Whitehorse, then she would head to the jail and relay the story they came up with. The entire time, Rose hardly slept, her mind constantly occupied by the situation. She was on shaky ground, and it was only getting worse. With each day, it got harder for her to keep up appearances for the Resistance, even if she wasn’t in Fall’s End. The Sheriff had stopped by on a couple of occasions, as had Nick, both ensuring that she hadn’t run off. The closest call had been when the pilot had stopped by one night, and Joseph had been speaking with Rose inside the cabin. Luckily, the Father had walked, and so there was no Project truck outside, and he was able to slip out the back while Rose answered the door. It had been a lucky break, but luck, like most things, only lasts for so long.

Rose had been at the cabin, simply relaxing as she began to reread Joseph’s book. She had finished it a couple of weeks prior, but felt that she needed to go through it again. As she was reading, there was a knock at the door; a knock that clearly wasn’t John, and sounded heavy handed, desperate, and if Rose wasn’t mistaken, angry. Quickly stashing away the book in her backpack, the female took a breath, swallowing nervously as she answered the door. On the other side, she found Sheriff Whitehorse, along with the female Deputy who had been in the office when she gave him and Nick the first fake lead.

“You’re going to have to come with us, Rose,” Whitehorse announced, his tone as serious as it could be. “You can either come quietly, or we can cuff you.”

“What?” Rose questioned, backing away from the doorway.

“You’re under arrest for obstructing the Resistance movement and providing false information which lead to the deaths of several of our people, including the Deputy,” the Sheriff told her. Rose backed away further, and the female Deputy stepped forward, reaching for a set of handcuffs on her belt. When she attempted to turn and make a run for the back door, the two rushed forward, grabbing the smaller woman and cuffing her hands behind her back. They lead her out to the car they had driven in, seating her in the back and buckling her in, before getting into the vehicle, themselves.

Rose was silent the entire way to the jail, and even until they got her into a holding cell that still had the door on it. The room had no window to the outside, and had a small window that looked into the jail, itself. The female slumped against the wall, sliding her back down it until she was sitting on the floor. There was no way that she’d be able to get herself out of this, at least from what she could see. Her best bet would be to make a break for it as soon as the door was cracked open, but even that would be a long shot with all the people they had passed by on the way in. For now, she could only hope for the best.

She had no idea how much time went by before door to the cell opened again. Sheriff Whitehorse entered the small cell, keeping himself between Rose and the door. He looked down at her, and in return, she glared up at him.

“How long?” He questioned, not bothering with any sort of formalities.

“How long, what?” Rose responded. She knew what he was asking about in the back of her mind, but she didn’t want to believe it.

“How long have you known that Jacob was expecting the Deputy?”

“I didn’t know.”

“You had to have known,” the Sheriff insisted.

“I swear to God, Sheriff, I didn’t fucking know!” Rose snapped. In truth, she’d only half known. She had known that Jacob would be expecting the Deputy, but she had no idea that he would kill them. She didn’t even think John knew that his brother had planned to go that far.

“I would mind my tone if I were you,” Whitehorse threatened. “Some of those on the other side of this door want you dead.”

“And what do  _ you  _ want?”

“To make a trade.”

Rose’s eyes widened at the man’s words. “What?!”

“A trade. In a sense, at least,” the Sheriff told her. “Everything you know about the Seed brothers, and full dedication to the Resistance, in return, I won’t put in word that you’re here.”

“Put in word to who? For what? You have no reason to report me to higher authorities.” Rose acted as if she didn’t know what the man was talking about.

“I know who you are, girl. Don’t play dumb with me.”

“Who am I, then?”

“Rose Anne Carter,” the name met Rose’s ears and the Sheriff’s tone chilled her to the bone. “Three prior arrests, wanted in five states. I’ve known for weeks.”

Rose couldn’t think of something to say. She just stared up at Whitehorse, eyes wide and mouth hanging open as she tried to find something, _anything_ to say. The Sheriff approached her, kneeling down to her level, looking her in the eye.  
“All you have to do is work with us, and I’ll look the other way. And if you don’t, well, I can’t make any promises concerning what’ll happen,” he told her, after several moments without a response.

“Sheriff.”

“Hm?”

“Do me a favor and go fuck yourself on a pinecone.”

The Sheriff glared at the woman and stood up, shaking his head. He backed away from her, leaving the cell and locking the door once again, leaving the female alone. Rose sighed, closing her eyes, trying to ignore the dread building up inside her. Once again, the female had no idea how much time was going by. There was no clock in the cell, nor in view of the window. The silence was oppressive, and only helped to fuel Rose’s dread. After an amount of time that Rose couldn’t discern, the cell door opened again, and Jerome stepped into the small room, shutting the metal door behind him.

“Rose,” Jerome addressed her, his voice holding a disappointed tone.

“Jerome,” Rose responded, looking up at the Pastor.

The man approached Rose, sitting on the bench that was in the cell. “Sadly, I can’t say I’m surprised by this. I’m upset with this, but more than that, I’m disappointed.”

“Just like everybody else in my life. Congrats, you’re in the majority.” Rose’s tone was a bit bitter, though it didn’t seem to faze Jerome.

“We both know you’re only defensive like this to try to protect yourself.” Jerome responded, sounding as calm as ever. “You don’t want others to get to you, so you don’t let them in, and scare them off, instead.”

“So? Most hardly want me around, anyways.”

“Except for the Seed’s.”

Rose didn’t respond to this. She simply went silent, directing her gaze away from Jerome. The female knew he was right, but couldn’t face that truth, herself. The pair sat in silence for a time, as Jerome waited for Rose to respond to him. When she didn’t say anything, he sighed softly.

“You’re deep in it, Rose. The Sheriff said that you didn’t exactly agree to what he offered. That was the best he could do, you know. You know what could happen, now, don’t you?” Jerome questioned.

“Yeah. At the first chance, I’m gonna be put into full custody, all that crap,” Rose mumbled. “Not like I haven’t been locked up, before.”

“He told me what you’re wanted for. With the evidence they have, you’re destined for life, at least.”

“And at most, they’ll take it. I know,” Rose sighed, shutting her eyes. This wasn’t how she’d wanted to go out. She always thought she’d go out with a bang, but now, she was gonna end up tied down, falling into darkness.

“Rose, you could agree, he’ll let you off, cover your tracks. I don’t agree with it, but that’s what he’s got planned. But you have to agree.”

“Screw him. You won’t talk me out of it, Jerome. I won’t agree to anything that Sheriff offers.”

With a sigh, Jerome got up. “May the Lord have mercy on you, Rose,” he said to her, before leaving the cell.

Rose sighed, sitting where she was for a time before finally moving from where she was. She simply stood and stretched, turning when the door opened for a third time, revealing a clearly pissed off Nick Rye. The man slammed the door behind him, though Rose didn’t jump. She’d been around enough gunfire to not be shaken by a door slamming, even if it was because of a man who clearly wanted to rip her head off.

“How could you?” Nick questioned. “After everything we’ve done for ya, after what you’ve done for us, after seeing what those bastards do?! How could you turn out to be a  _ fucking  _ Peggie?!” His voice rose as he spoke, sounding angry and hurt.

“Nick… I had no choice…” Rose finally responded, finding it difficult to hold her resolve.

“No, you did have a choice. You had a fucking choice, and you chose to play us!” The man stepped forward, jabbing a finger in Rose’s direction. “You played us, you got the Deputy killed, what else are you looking to ruin around here?!” Nick stepped even closer to Rose, and she stepped back, now fully cornered in the small space. “Next time I see you, you’re gonna have a target on your back.” The man shoved Rose back into the corner, before leaving without another word. Rose sunk down to the floor, sighing, unsure of just what would be done about her, now.

A few days went by, and Rose was still in her cell at the jail. She hadn’t been spoken to since the day she was brought in, and the silence was driving her crazy. The situation reminded her far too much of her time with Jacob. Those in the jail spared her little attention, though ensured she had just enough water to keep her alive, so long as she portioned it out carefully, herself. Five days passed, and still nothing happened. She was still simply in the cell, alone, in complete silence. Outside the window of the cell, Rose could see people come and go, none of them sparing her even a glance. As another night began to fall, something finally happened.

Just after dark, or, what was likely after dark, considering the number of people who had passed by the window of the cell, there was a commotion. Several loud explosions could be heard, even through the thick walls of the jail cell. Rose had no idea what was going on, all she could tell was that  _ something  _ was happening outside, as she heard yells outside the cell and saw a number of people run by. Several more explosions sounded off, and Rose could have sworn she’d heard a car crash, as well. Outside the window of the cell door, she could see people running by, before a couple stopped in front of the door. A number of bangs sounded off against the door, as if those on the other side were striking at the handle, trying to break the lock that held Rose inside the cell. When those brought no result, the two figures outside the door took off. Moments later, the two returned, with a third figure in tow. One she recognized right away.

“Jacob?!” Rose called out, rushing to the door. She couldn’t mistake that bright red hair for belonging to anybody else. The man motioned for her to back away from the door, and put his hands over his ears. Rose did as she assumed he meant, getting as far from the door as she could in the small space, and covering her ears. There was a detonation on the other side of the door a moment later, filling the room with smoke and noise, and causing bricks around the doorframe to shatter, sending pieces of them towards Rose, resulting in cuts to her arms. Rose could hardly hear over the ringing in her ears resulting from the blast.

Several strikes to the door followed, and though it started to budge, it would be impossible to open by hand. A few moments later, another blast, and more pieces of brick cutting into Rose’s arms. This time, the brute force of Jacob kicking at the handle level on the door forced it open. Rose’s ears were still ringing loudly, and she could barely hear what the man was saying to her. She struggled a bit when Jacob grabbed her arm and pulled her up to her feet, before placing a spare handgun he had into her hand.

“We’re getting you out of here, pup,” Jacob was saying, when Rose could finally hear him again. “John said you were in the service, let’s see what you remember.”

Rose gave a nod, following Jacob out of the cell, and further on, out of the jail. The pair had to stop multiple times, ducking for cover as Resistance members fired at them. They made their way through, and were nearly in the clear when one of the Resistance members hit their mark, landing a shot to Rose’s leg, bringing her down. The female pulled herself behind cover, firing off a few rounds towards the Resistance members behind her. With her right arm braced outside the cover she was behind to fire, her hand came down, as she was about to duck down again, before she felt a burning pain in her arm and cursed, letting herself drop down a bit.

“Fucking hell… Fantastic,” she muttered to herself. She looked up as Jacob hurried over to her, and after he took a few shots at the Resistance, he hefted Rose up, and took off with a number of other Project faithful. Jacob put Rose into the back of a nearby pickup, where a pair of Project followers were already in the cab. With them both in the bed of the truck, they made their way back to Joseph’s compound. Between her hunger from nearly a week without food, the pain of the wounds in her arm and leg, and the lack of sleep she’d been getting, Rose simply let her eyes shut, the exhaustion taking over.

When Rose woke up, she found herself in Joseph’s bedroom, with John pacing by the bedside. Her upper right arm ached, as did her left leg. She groaned a little bit, pushing herself to sit up with her good arm, and it drew John’s attention. He stopped pacing and hurried to Rose’s side, taking hold of her hand.

“Thank God…” he mumbled. “I went to the cabin to meet up with you, but you weren’t there, the door was open, I had no idea where you were. I was listening in on the jail’s station and heard that they had you there.” John was starting to ramble, now, and Rose squeezed his hand.

“Blue, calm down a little. I’m okay,” she reassured him. “And I made my choice.”

“And?”

Rose smiled a bit, tugging John down a bit by the front of his shirt, before whispering into his ear. “Yes,” she whispered, before pulling the man into a kiss. The pair held the kiss for what felt like ages, but it still didn’t feel long enough when they parted, both with a gentle smile. John pulled the woman close to his chest, hugging her close. Relaxing in John’s arms, Rose smiled a small bit, letting herself simply close her eyes, savoring the first bit of certainty she’d known in ages.


	18. Changes

Changes

 

It felt like ages before Rose was up on her feet again. The shot in her leg kept her in bed for a time, unable to put her weight onto her left leg. After a week or so, she was finally able to get up and start to move around, being careful of the healing wound in her leg. John tried to be by her side every day, keeping her company and talking with her. He had even made his way to the cabin and gotten her backpack and belongings. Another few days went by, and Rose was walking around the compound, doing what she could to lend a hand to any of the Project faithful. Mostly, she helped those who came back injured, patching up wounds and the like.

Rose actually got along well with the other faithful. It turned out that a good number of those she met had also been conflicted at first, unsure of Joseph and his Project, and others had family elsewhere who didn’t understand their choices. Others were like Rose, having cut contact with their families ages ago, and had needed someplace to go. Joseph and the Project offered more than they could have asked for; a roof over their heads, food in their stomachs, something to believe in, and a family. And it really did feel like a family, when you got away from the gunfire and fanatic violence. Everyone looked out for one another, many who knew different skills, such as how to give someone stitches for a wound, or how to cook, or fire a weapon, would teach those who didn’t know. There was always someone to listen if you needed to talk, and everyone had their own worries about what was going on. She had met one man who was worried about his wife and young son in Fall’s End; they hadn’t agreed with his decision to follow Joseph, and he expressed to her that he was often kept up at night by the idea that they had been killed. Rose was able to assure him that they were both fine, as she’d helped them not long before Whitehorse had arrested her. They had been worried about him, too, and though they didn’t agree with his choice, only hoped for his safety.

She even did what she could to help out Joseph, himself. They would organize the copies of his book in the pews after sermons, or sit at night and sure up the bindings on some copies that had been handled too roughly. There was one night when they had been in Joseph’s home, and Rose had come from the bedroom to see if he had any bandages she could use to change the dressing on her leg, and she heard chords being played on a guitar. He had been startled when he noticed her, and stopped playing, but she merely smiled, urging him to continue. She didn’t ask about it, and merely got the bandages she’d needed, changing the dressing on her leg as she listened to the music.

Rose’s leg healed fairly quickly, all things considered. The round that had struck her had been of a lower caliber, leaving a smaller wound. She had been helping to get supplies into the bed of a truck for a group heading to an outpost in the Whitetails when John had come up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her head.

“Look at you,” he began, his voice soft in her ear. “Putting weight on that leg, hm? Must be doing better.”

“Hey, Blue,” Rose smiled, moving her head from under the man’s chin and looking up at him a bit. “Yeah, it’s doing well, hardly even sore, at this point.”

John smiled, kissing Rose’s cheek, not seeming to care if anyone saw. “I was thinking, maybe we could head to the water, and see how far out we can get you?”

“I think that would be nice,” Rose smiled a little. She found that she actually enjoyed going to the water with John, and each time they went, she managed to get a little farther out into the water. She trusted him, and while they were in the water, he never let go of her hand.

John smiled more, stepping back and assisting in getting the last of the supplies into the pickup, before grasping Rose’s hand. He lead her to his car, the same red one they had driven from the ranch when Rose had refused to get into Nick’s plane. They drove down to the water, and walked to the edge, hand in hand. After stripping off their shoes and socks, and rolling up the legs of their pants as far as they would go, John took Rose’s hand, starting to wade into the water with Rose not too far behind. She was able to get deep enough that the water was half way up her thighs without much issue, and though she slowed a bit, Rose was able to get far enough out that her legs were submerged, and the waterline reached the top of her hips.

“That’s good!” John praised, holding Rose’s hand in his own. “I want you to come forward a little more, okay? There’s a bit of a drop, you’ll be waist deep. Think you can do it?” he said to her.

“I think so…” Rose responded, squeezing John’s hand a bit as she readied herself to step forward. John guided her, his free hand on her waist as he did his best to keep the female steady at the drop below her. She let out a little gasp when she felt her foot drop, and froze for a moment, registering the feeling of the cool water around her torso. Blue’s hand was still on her waist as she settled her other foot on the lower part of the drop, and she looked up at him, smiling a little.

“There you go, just like that,” he praised, placing a gentle kiss on the woman’s forehead. “Looks like things have been doing well since you finally decided.”

“Yeah, they really have,” Rose confirmed. “It feels like I actually belong around here.”

“Of course you belong. We are your family now, Rose.” John confirmed, carefully pulling the woman’s smaller frame close to his chest. “We’ll eventually have to get you swimming, you know.”

“I don’t think I’m quite ready for that, Blue.”

“I’ll teach you to float next time, then, alright?”

“That sounds a little more my speed.”

The two shared a bit of a laugh, staying in the water for a time. They simply talked and laughed, and John would occasionally lift Rose up out of the water, making her squeal a bit before breaking into a fit of giggles. Eventually, they got out of the water, and John pulled a couple of sets of dry clothes out of the backseat of his car. He passed the white dress he’d pulled out over to Rose, who looked it over, running her fingers along the fabric.

“It was one of Faith’s,” he told her. “We still have her clothes, and I knew our clothes would get wet, so I just grabbed one of her dresses for you to change into, so you’re not stuck in wet clothes until we get back.”

“Thanks, Blue,” Rose responded, giving the man a gentle smile. The dress she held was white and lacy, just as the one Faith had been wearing when they had met. But, instead of having flowers along the side, the dress didn’t have any real adornments. Rather, it had a simple belt, based in white with a pale pink lace laid over it. The hems of the sleeves and skirt of the dress held a similar detail, being pale pink in color.

John merely smiled at her, before stepping away, carrying a set of dry clothes with him to give her space. With a final check around, Rose stripped off her wet jeans and shirt, before pulling on the dress. It fit fairly well, despite the difference in size between Rose and the dress’s previous owner. The hem ended a bit farther down her legs than it would have on Faith, but the sleeves and chest fit her fairly well. She smoothed the fabric out, her fingers running over the lacy fabric gently. When John came back, he was wearing a fresh set of jeans and a T-shirt, fastening his belt as he approached. He paused, taking in Rose wearing the simple dress, and smiled.

“You look beautiful,” he mused, coming closer and gently pulling the blonde close to him.

“Thank you,” Rose replied, wrapping her arms around the tall man’s waist.

“We could look through Faith’s clothes, if you want. With her gone, they’re just sitting at the ranch. I imagine she would want you to put them to use, and I think your wardrobe could stand to have something a bit, nicer.”

Rose simply gave a soft laugh, nodding. “I guess so,” she agreed. “I’ll have to take a look. Looks like we were about the same size, aside from our height. She was a bit taller than me.”

“Just a few inches,” John replied. “Most of her clothes would fit you, if this is anything to go off of,” he continued, running his hands over her shoulders.

Rose simply nodded, smiling at the tall man. They both got into John’s car, their wet clothing on the floor in the back, and made their way back to the compound. The drive was short, and fairly quiet, until they arrived and got out of the car. John grabbed Rose’s jeans and shirt from the back for her, handing the still wet articles her way.

“You know, there’s plenty of space at the ranch. If you wanted to, you could, I don’t know, stay there, with me,” John informed her, as they were making their way towards Joseph’s home.

Rose smiled, nodding a bit. “That sounds nice. It does get a bit hectic around here, sometimes,” she responded.

“I need to speak to Joseph about a few things, while I do that, why don’t you go get your bag?”

The female nodded, parting ways with John as they approached the small church. John made his way inside the small building, while Rose went into Joseph’s home, going to the bedroom and gathering her things. She double checked that she had everything, before closing the bag up and making her way out of the home. Joseph and John were standing just outside the small white church, talking with one another. When she came into view, they fell silent, and Joseph looked her up and down, before offering a gentle smile and nod. The two brothers parted, and John approached Rose, smiling at the blonde and walking to the car with her. With Rose’s backpack in the backseat, the two got into the car and John drove them to the ranch.

In the daylight, without any Resistance members around, the ranch was beautiful. They pulled up the driveway, and John parked the car, tucking the key into his pocket and opening Rose’s door for her. The blonde got out of the car, and got her backpack out of the backseat as John shut the door. Once the door to the backseat was also shut, the pair walked up to the ranch house, hand in hand.

John lead Rose to an unoccupied bedroom, not far from his own, and left the female to settle in. She sighed softly, setting her backpack on the floor. The room was cozy, just like the rest of the ranch. The room had mostly wooden furnishings, with the curtains over the windows, the bedding, and other additions to the room were all a pleasant shade of green. There was a door to a closet, a small dresser with a mirror, a nightstand by the bed with a lamp atop it, and a desk pressed against the wall, with another lamp set on the surface. Rose smiled to herself, making her way over to the window and opening up the curtains, letting in the natural light from outside. She took her things out of her backpack, setting her journal, pencil, and copy of Joseph’s book on the nightstand, and putting her clothing into the closet, even setting her shoes on the closet floor. The blonde sat down on the bed, running her fingers along the soft fabric of the bedspread. A quiet knock at the door drew her attention a few moments later, and she looked over her shoulder towards the door she’d left half open, seeing John there with a black case painted with the Project’s cross, just like many Rose had seen.

“These are all Faith’s clothes. I thought we could go through them together?” John offered, stepping into the room.

“Sounds good to me,” Rose smiled, standing from her spot on the bed and pulling the chair out from the desk, setting it by the bedside to provide a place for John to put the case down so that they could go through the contents.

When John opened the lid of the case, she could see that the clothing inside was all folded neatly, and things were grouped together. All the dresses were together, and blouses, skirts, all things Rose expected from her initial impression of their former owner. A couple of warmer jackets were at the bottom of the case, along with a couple sets of shoes that were clearly only worn on occasion, and some jeans in the same condition. It was clear to Rose that Faith had been one for the more feminine clothing and not wearing shoes. As the pair went through the clothing, it was fairly quiet, with John occasionally talking about his late adoptive sister.

“This was one of her favorites,” he quietly mused, pulling out a lacy white dress with flowers adorning the left side of the waist, down the skirt and along the bottom hem. It was much like the one Rose had seen her wearing when they had met. “She had two of them, almost identical to one another.”

“I can see why she liked it so much. It’s beautiful,” Rose smiled softly, gently running her fingers over the fabric.

“She would be glad to know that these are going to someone who appreciates them.”

Rose simply nodded, carefully taking the dress and hanging it in the closet. They finished sorting through the clothing and putting things away, before sitting on the bed. A comfortable silence fell over them for a time, before John finally spoke up once again, looking over at Rose.

“All of this has to be difficult to register,” he suggested.

“What? All the change?” Rose questioned, and John nodded. “I’m used to change, at this point. Things got pretty chaotic after I got out of high school, so this is nothing new. But, I think these are some of the best changes I’ve made in a while,” she smiled, looking up at John.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he responded, taking hold of Rose’s hand. They sat together for a time, simply enjoying each other’s company, before John got up, picking up the mostly empty case from the chair and leaving to store it away. Rose put the chair back at the desk, and grabbed her journal, sitting on the bed to pass the time before they would have dinner. What she had said was true; all these changes being made were some of the best to come her way in quite some time.

Dinner was quiet for the couple, as was the rest of the evening. By the time they both decided to turn in for the night, John and Rose had discussed the next steps they would take in getting Rose into the water, as well as further actions to fully bring her into the Project. Now that they didn’t need to worry as much about her contact with the Resistance, they had far more freedom to go about the usual methods of the Project. For now, Rose wasn’t fully sure just what those methods really were, seeing as John wouldn’t elaborate too much, but she did trust him. Whatever was going to happen, she knew that Blue wouldn’t mean her any harm. For the time being, she really didn’t have much at all to worry about, and that was likely the biggest change of all.


	19. Reality Check

Reality Check

 

Rose and John quickly fell into a routine together. Over the next few days, Rose found that John would usually wake up just before her, and would be making coffee by the time she came down the steps. They would have coffee and a simple breakfast together, before getting ready for their day. On days where Joseph would give a sermon in the morning, they would make their way to the church, before going down by the water or helping around the compound. When he would give evening sermons, the pair would go about their own business. Rose would take the spare car that John kept at the ranch and go down to the river to fish, or go to the compound to help out, while John would go about his usual duties as the Baptist. They would meet for the sermon, and head back for dinner, spending the evening together before going to bed.

This went on for a while; Rose and John going about their days in tandem, enjoying one another’s company, and growing closer with each passing day. But, like all calm moments around Hope County at this point, it wasn’t going to last. They both knew that, but didn’t pay it any mind, just savoring every moment they had before the storm rolled through again. And oh, did it roll through.

Rose was driving on a dirt road, on her way back towards the ranch after helping at an outpost. It had started to rain while she was there, and it had only picked up since she left. Visibility, even with the windshield wipers running, wasn’t exactly ideal, and she was doing her best to get back before it got any worse. With the loud rain against the roof of the car, and the radio playing, along with the heavy rain obscuring the mirrors, Rose didn’t even notice the truck coming up behind her until it was too late to do anything. She felt a jolt as the truck clipped the back end of her car, and she tried to steady the vehicle as another jolt caused her seatbelt to lock up, a third hit forced her car off the road. The drop from the roadway to the ditch caused the vehicle to roll, and it got trapped upside down, pinned against a tree.

It took Rose a moment to get her bearings, looking around the interior of the overturned vehicle. She tried to undo her seatbelt, but found that her weight on the clip was preventing it. She fumbled to find her pocket knife, looking out the window as she hoped that whoever had run her off the road had left. But, as she got out the knife to cut at the belt holding her in her seat, a set of feet came into view. Frantically, the female cut through the restraint and braced herself as she fell to the roof of the overturned car. Now, to just get out of the vehicle and figure out what to do from there. Before she was able to break through the window to get out, though, a few strong kicks broke through the cracked glass. Rose was grabbed by the collar of her shirt and pulled out of the wreck, before being thrown on the ground by the stranger.

“You  _ bitch _ !” That was the first thing she heard. Looking up, Rose could make out the figure of a tall, strong female, dressed in similar attire to what many of the Project members wore. Her clothes and hair were soaked from the rain, and Rose was also becoming drenched and muddy. The lights from the car illuminated the stranger just enough for Rose to make out the word “Envy” tattooed across her neck.

“What the fuck?!” Rose questioned, attempting to stand in the slick mud. “I don’t even  _ know  _ you, what the hell did I do?!”

“You stole him away from me!”

“What the hell are you talking about? Stole who?”

“The Baptist!” The stranger shouted, using her heavy boot to shove Rose back onto the ground, keeping her down with pressure on the smaller female’s shoulder. “Ever since your sinning ass came around, all his attention has been on you!”

Rose attempted to push the woman’s foot off her shoulder, struggling under her. “That’s not my fault, you dumbass! You’re fucking crazy!” She still fought, attempting to punch the taller woman’s leg in a way that would force her to relent. The female above her simply pressed her foot down harder, and Rose knew there would be a fair bruise on her shoulder after this. Thinking quickly, the blonde pulled her knife from her belt, and stabbed the woman in the leg, finally forcing her to back off enough for Rose to pull her smaller frame up off the ground.

“You’re dead meat, sinner!” the taller female spat, pulling a handgun from a holster at her side. Rose stepped back, her eyes turning to the gun the woman drew. 

In response, Rose reached for her own firearm, but found nothing. She’d gotten too comfortable, and hadn’t even thought to grab the holster when she’d left the ranch that morning. “Fuck,” she mumbled under the sound of the rain.

“Say goodnight, bitch,” the Envious woman taunted, leveling the gun. Rose couldn’t think, staring down the barrel of the firearm. Rose had been in this position before, but never this helpless. She’d always had a gun on her, and always had the faster trigger finger. Now, though, all she had was a knife against the taller, stronger, armed female.

Suddenly, a shot rang out, drawing the taller female’s attention away from Rose. The blonde took the opportunity to move toward her, managing to divert the female’s aim and get the gun away from her. Stepping back, Rose trained the firearm on its confused owner. A second shot fired off, but it wasn’t from Rose. Whoever had fired first had fired again, the round embedding itself in the side of the blonde’s overturned car. This one had been closer to Rose, and she turned her eyes towards the source of the gunfire. Through the pouring rain, the two females spotted a tall, strong figure stepping closer to them. In the dim light given off by the overturned vehicle’s headlights, they could make out exactly who it was; Jacob Seed.

The man didn’t say a word as he loomed over the pair. He stepped closer, stopping at the edge of the roadway, sidearm still in his hand, the red slide faintly gleaming. The Envious follower took half a step back, as if she was made nervous by the man’s presence. Rose lowered the gun in her hand, directing her aim away from the follower.

“You,” Jacob practically barked, addressing the taller woman. “On your way. To the Veterans Center. I’ll deal with you later.” Without needing to be told twice, the Envious female stalked away, heading back to her truck and driving off. The Soldier then turned to Rose. “I’ll bring you back to John’s ranch.” Not even waiting for a response, Jacob started making his way towards his own truck, climbing into the driver’s seat. Rose followed him, getting into the passenger seat. “What happened?”

“The bitch ran me off the road, is what happened,” Rose told him. “Said I stole Blue away from her.”

“Envy and Wrath are a dangerous combination,” Jacob mused as he drove. “She has never had true control over her impulses, and when it concerns John, she isn’t the only one. As it becomes clear to others that the two of you might be together, you’ll need to be more aware of the others.”

“I got lucky this time, I guess. She didn’t pull the trigger right away,” Rose sighed. “I froze, I’ve never frozen in a position like that… I got too comfortable, didn’t even think to arm myself.” As she spoke, the blonde looked at the firearm still in her hand. For the first time in a long time, her hand shook as she held the grip.

“You’re not weak,” Jacob chimed in. It was almost as if he could read what Rose was thinking. “Not firing in that moment doesn’t make you weak, freezing in that moment doesn’t make you weak. You’re still processing everything, that doesn’t make you weak. It just makes you human.”

Rose nodded silently, thinking about what Jacob said as she looked out the window. She unloaded the gun in her hands, and set the safety on. The rest of the drive was silent, as Jacob just let his passenger think. It was fairly late when they finally arrived at the ranch, and there were a few lights on in the windows of the main house. John was still awake, and likely wondering just where Rose was. She got out of the truck, quietly thanking Jacob for his help, leaving the handgun and the ammunition from it on her seat, and heading inside.

John rushed over to Rose as soon as the door shut behind her. Without waiting for her to even turn to him fully, the man wrapped the smaller woman in his arms. Rose almost seemed to tense up under his touch, and pressed against his chest a bit, causing the man to back off a bit, letting her go.

“What happened? You’re never back this late. And you’re soaked,” he rambled, looking over the blonde.

“A follower ran me off the road and intended to shoot me,” Rose told him.

“What?!” The Baptist sounded shocked, but he took a breath, looking over Rose a bit more carefully this time. He noted the mud all over her clothes, mostly on her back and her left shoulder, and the blood mixing with the water that dripped from her blonde hair. “You’re a mess,” he sighed. “Let’s get you cleaned up and warm, you’ve got to be freezing. I’ll get a bath going for you, we’ll get you cleaned up, and I’ll make some soup, alright?”

Rose simply gave a small nod, and John went to the bathroom, the small blonde in tow, and got a bath running in the tub. Normally, Rose wouldn’t take a bath, she always stuck with showers, making sure that the water got in her face as little as possible. But, she had been making progress with John, and she knew that she could only get so deep in the tub. She watched from the doorway as John put a bit of soap into the bath, causing it to foam up with bubbles, filling the room with a pleasant floral scent. As the bath filled up, the blonde pulled off her muddy flannel, looking in the mirror. Where the Envious woman had stepped on her shoulder was already going red, and it was sore to the touch.

“There we go,” John mused, turning off the water. He turned to Rose, frowning a bit at seeing the red mark on her shoulder. Rose didn’t say anything in response, and tried to pull her shirt up off over her head, only to grit her teeth and stop herself. Her shoulder protested against any movement at that moment. Without a word, John came to her side, and helped Rose to remove the tank-top she wore. Once the shirt was tossed aside with the flannel, John stood behind Rose, his arms gently wrapping around her. His fingers glided over her belly, tracing the toned muscles, before finding a scar on her left side. He gently traced over the scar, not saying a word.

“It’s from a stab wound, back when I lived in the city,” Rose stated, watching John’s fingers glide over her skin. The man simply nodded, taking a step back. He let his fingers linger on Rose’s skin for a second, before bringing his hands to his sides.

“I’ll let you get cleaned up and everything,” he merely said, before leaving the bathroom, shutting the door behind him and leaving Rose to herself.

Rose finished getting undressed, and got into the tub, sighing as the warm water enveloped her. She sat for a time, simply letting herself relax in the warm tub, before actually starting to clean herself up. She scrubbed every inch of herself she could, before moving on to wash her face, finding some blood staining the light blue cloth. Now that she was relaxed, Rose could feel that her head also hurt. She’d probably hit her head when the car had rolled, and simply not noticed it in the moment. After washing her face, the blonde went on to wash her hair, scrubbing it of any mud that had gotten into it. Finally, she was finished, and got out of the tub, pulling a light blue towel around her body and pulling the plug from the drain. As Rose was drying off, there was a soft knock at the door. She wrapped the towel around her torso, and opened the door a small bit, smiling when she found it was John on the other side. He silently handed over a set of clean dry clothes to Rose, and left without a word.

Once she was dressed in the clothing John had given her, Rose came out into the kitchen, smiling a bit as the smell of whatever John was cooking met her. The man was ladling some soup into a pair of bowls, and bringing them over to the table. They both sat down, and went about eating the warm meal. They chatted and laughed, and by now, Rose was entirely relaxed after her encounter with the Envious woman earlier in the night.

After they finished eating, Rose and John sat on the sofa, with Rose nestled right by the man’s side, with his arm draped over her shoulders. A few moments of silence went by before either one spoke up again.

“I’m glad you’re alright,” John mused, gently kissing the top of Rose’s head.

“I was scared, Blue… I froze, just staring at her. I was just looking down the barrel of her gun, thinking that she was just going to end me, right there, and I couldn’t do anything…” Rose’s voice was quiet, and she let her head rest on John’s shoulder. “Even when I got the gun, I couldn’t pull the trigger… If Jacob hadn’t been there, I don’t know what would’ve happened…”

“You don’t need to think of that,” John assured her. “You’re here, now, safe, by my side. Where you belong.”

Rose smiled at this, shifting herself even closer to the man’s side. “Thanks, Blue.”

The pair simply relaxed late into the night. The last thing Rose remembered thinking about before sleep came to her was what the night’s incident meant. It was a wakeup call, a reality check. No matter how close and family-like the Project seemed, it was still a cult. It was still dangerous. She didn’t only need to worry about those outside of it, either. There were those within the Project itself who could possibly want to harm her. From now on, she’d need to be more careful, especially since John was right. He was right that she belonged by his side. 


	20. Water

Water

 

The rain had let up early in the morning, and a mist clung to the ground outside when Rose got up. She could only assume that John had brought her up to her room after she had fallen asleep, seeing as she had no memory of heading upstairs. The blonde came down from her room, following the smell of freshly brewed coffee and sound of popping bacon.

“Morning, Blue,” she greeted, walking over to the man.

“Good morning,” John replied, giving her a gentle smile before turning off the burners on the stove and plating the food he had made; pancakes and bacon. He and Rose both took a plate of food and a mug of coffee, and sat down at the table across from one another.

“Is Joseph speaking this morning?” Rose asked as she put some butter and syrup on her pancakes.

“No, he will tonight, though. Until then, we’ve got the day to ourselves,” John answered, mirroring Rose’s actions.

As they ate, the room wasn’t quite silent. John had a small radio set on the table not too far from them, tuned to the station that played the Project’s hymns and some of Joseph’s sermons. The music made for a calm atmosphere, as Rose and John would hum along with the lyrics of the songs while they ate. As the pair were finishing their meal, one particular song came on, and John gave a thoughtful hum.

“Let the water wash away your sins,” he quietly sang along with the choir coming over the radio. “Hm… Seeing as we’ve got the day free, why don’t we go down to the water again? Try to get you to float?”

Rose thought over the suggestion. She was getting far better about being in the water. John would be there for her, just as he always was, and she honestly wanted to get to the point where she could finally get into the water and let him guide her under and let the water wash her sins and her past away. “I’d like that. We’ve got all the time in the world, today, after all.”

John gave a nod, and the two went about finishing their food. The man cleaned up the dishes, while Rose went to get dressed. She ran her brush through her hair, after throwing on a sports bra, blue tank top, and a set of black compression running shorts she hardly ever wore. Considering she didn’t have a swim suit and didn’t want to get any of her other clothes soaked, these would do. After getting dressed and pulling on her shoes, Rose threw a set of socks and undergarments into her smaller bag, along with a skirt and blouse she had gotten from Faith’s old things. Just as she was about to go meet John outside so they could make their way down to the water, the blonde stopped. She eyed her 1911, biting her lip as she remembered the events of last night. There was a dark bruise on her shoulder from the boot the other woman had been wearing, and she had a fair gash in her forehead from when her car had rolled over. After a moment of thought, Rose decided it would be best to not take chances and put the gun into her bag, as well, before finally going to meet up with John.

The pair settled in John’s car and he drove them down to the dock, singing along with the radio as Project hymns played. The man had grabbed a change of clothes for himself, as well as a couple of towels and his handheld radio. Approaching the water’s edge, John set the towels and radio on the rocks, letting the music play from his radio as he and Rose both kicked off their shoes. The Baptist was dressed very differently for this; instead of his usual dark jeans, silk shirt, and vest, he wore a set of what looked to be dark blue athletic shorts and a t-shirt that had a fading print of an airplane on it. He pulled off his shirt, setting it on the rocks with their other things, as Rose quietly sang along with the current song playing on the radio.

“Are you ready?” he asked, stepping into the water and offering his hand to Rose. She simply nodded with a gentle smile, taking his hand and letting the man guide her into the water. They stopped once Rose was about chest deep, and John let her adjust and relax to the depth, still holding her hand. “Alright, I want you to turn your back to me,” he directed the blonde, carefully guiding her to turn around. “Good, good. Now, I need you to relax and lay back slowly. I’m right here.”

Rose took a deep breath, doing her best to relax as she started to lay back, feeling John’s arm at her back while he still held her hand. She could feel the water against the back of her neck and shoulders. The blonde felt the water wetting her hair, and jumped a little when she felt it in her ears, attempting to find her footing again.

“You’re alright, you’re alright,” John quietly insisted. “Everything’s alright. You just need to relax a bit. I won’t let anything happen to you,” he told her. “Bring your arms out a bit, we’ll try again.”

Rose brought her arms out, as much as she could with her shoulder being as sore as it was. John guided her back again, and she took a shuddering breath as she felt the water at her ears again. John’s arms were supporting her, a comforting touch against the small of her back and the backs of her knees.

“Oh Lord, the great collapse, won’t be our end, when the world falls into the flames, we will rise again… We will rise again…” John quietly sang along with the radio, and Rose joined him, focusing on the lyrics as she tried to relax.

“When the sky has cleared, and the storm as passed, we’ll walk arm in arm, down our promised path. We’ll watch the sun come up, from its bed of black, we’ll enter Eden’s garden, and never look back…” they sang together, as Rose shut her eyes, letting herself relax and simply float by John. She hardly noticed that his arms had left her back and knees.

“Perfect,” John mused, taking a step back, but still holding onto Rose’s hand. “You’ve got it, Rose.”

“Hm?” Rose hummed in question, opening her eyes and turning them towards John, who gave a little wave with his free hand. Upon noticing that he was no longer holding her up, Rose let out a quiet laugh, smiling brightly.

“Looks like we just need to get you swimming, now,” John observed. He chuckled a bit, gently pulling Rose along by her hand as she lay there floating.

“Looks it. This is nice, actually,” Rose responded.

John smiled, “Want to get to that, then? Looks like it could start to rain again, but we probably still have time.”

Rose thought for a moment, looking towards some dark clouds that were rolling in. It would seem Hope County had only gotten a short respite from the rain before it was going to pick up again. “I don’t really want to get caught out here in the rain. Maybe we could stay for a bit, relax, and then head back to the ranch?”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

The pair remained in the water for some time, before getting out and drying off. They quickly pulled on their dry clothes, shielded from view by the car. The rain started to fall as they were on the way back to John’s ranch, finding a truck with the Project’s cross painted on the doors parked there. John parked not far from the truck, turning off the engine and getting out of the car. He went around and let Rose out, and the pair gathered their things before heading inside. John kept in front of Rose as they opened the door, and visibly relaxed, spotting his brothers sitting by the large fireplace, simply waiting for the pair to arrive.

“I told you they would be here, Jacob,” Joseph spoke up, looking towards the pair. He was in his dark pants, though without a shirt, which seemed to be the usual for the man at this point.

“Where were you?” Jacob questioned, looking over his shoulder towards the couple walking in.

“Down by the river. I’ve been helping Rose with something,” John answered, not specifying just what he was helping the blonde with. “What are you two doing here?”

“I was listening to the prison’s frequency,” Jacob started. “Sheriff’s looking all over for this one,” he continued, motioning to Rose.

“The Resistance also took out two more silos here in the Valley, and took over four more outposts between here and the Whitetails. Seems like taking out the Junior Deputy only served as a proverbial kick to the hornet’s nest,” Joseph chimed in.

“That’s just great,” John sarcastically mumbled. He took a seat on the couch at the opposite end from his brother, while Rose sat in the unoccupied armchair.

“What are we going to do?” Rose asked, doing what she could to hide the worry in her voice.

“They’ve hit us hard, we’ll hit back, harder,” Jacob stated.

“We’ll defend ourselves, make moves to take back the outposts they’ve claimed,” Joseph clarified. “Things will get more difficult from here, but we will save all those we can.”

Rose nodded a little bit, thinking over what had been said. The three brothers spoke with one another, though Rose didn’t pay much attention. She simply thought about how the friends she had made in Fall’s End had reacted to finding out that she had sided with the Project, even if she hadn’t had much of a choice. Jerome had been disappointed in her, having hoped that she was on the side of the Resistance; Whitehorse didn’t seem to care for her either way, seeing as he knew who she was, where she stood on matters likely didn’t matter to him; and Nick, he’d been furious, if given the chance, he probably would have killed her in that cell. And yet, despite just how mad he’d been, how frightening it was to be on the receiving end of that anger, Rose wanted to speak with him again. The Project would be kicking things up against the Resistance, and Nick had a wife, and a baby on the way. She didn’t want anything to happen to the family.

“We should all get going,” Joseph prompted, pulling Rose from her thoughts. He and his brothers stood, and Rose followed suit. She had been so deep in thought she hadn’t noticed the time passing. It was early evening, starting to approach the time when Joseph usually gave his evening sermons. The four filed out the door to the ranch house, Joseph and Jacob getting into the truck, and John and Rose getting into John’s car. Both drivers pulled out onto the road, making their way to Joseph’s compound.

As usual, Joseph’s sermon was powerful. He spoke about how the Collapse was coming, and time was running out for them to save the residents of Hope County. He urged his flock to have faith, and to protect one another. He tried to quell any unease concerning the Resistance by saying that their stubborn refusal and fighting were merely denial on their part, that they weren’t seeing things clearly just yet, but they would in time. With a quick look towards the window of the church, Joseph gave a slight nod to himself, offering that any who wished to be washed of their sins follow himself and his brothers to the water’s edge, so that they could be cleansed.

Most of the congregation followed the three brothers, with Rose among them. Rather than John getting into the water on his own, Joseph waded in with his brother. John guided his older brother under the water, holding him there for a short moment before letting the man up. As water dripped from his face and hair, Joseph did the same with John, holding him under for a short time before he let him up. The Father whispered into his brother’s ear, and John nodded a bit, stepping away towards the shore; it seemed Joseph wanted to go about this himself, this time around. One by one, followers approached, and the Father said a short prayer with his hand on their shoulder, before guiding them under the water for a short time and then letting them up. Rose recognized several of the followers around her from the day she had bailed from this, and she took a breath, steadying herself as what seemed to be the last person came up from the water, making their way back to the group in their soaking clothes. Everyone waited a moment, looking amongst themselves to see if anyone else would step forward. When nobody did, Joseph began to come towards the rocks, though he stopped when he saw a bit of movement.

Rose stepped forward, taking slow deep breaths as she walked to the water’s edge. Time seemed to freeze as she felt the water against her feet, slowly making its way up her legs as she stepped closer to Joseph. The man stood where he was, offering a hand to Rose. The blonde took his hand, letting the man guide her a little farther out and allowing him to turn her so that they were facing one another, but neither one was directly facing the congregation.

“Lord, let your waters wash away this child’s sins,” Joseph began, praying quietly over Rose, nearly whispering. “It matters not what she has done, now that she is in your hands. Take her sins, Lord, and her fears and her regrets. Leave her clean, and ready for you; ready to follow you, and to do whatever you may ask of her.”

Rose was entranced by Joseph’s words; how he spoke so easily, as if he’d been doing this sort of thing his entire life and then some. Her breath was almost knocked out of her as Joseph brought her under the water, and she did all she could to not panic at the fact that a small amount of water had gotten into her mouth, and burned in her nose, as the sudden cold bit at her skin. It felt like she was under for ages, and her lungs burned a little bit when Joseph finally brought her up. The blonde coughed and sputtered a bit, trying to take deep breaths to calm herself. She felt Joseph’s hands on her; one on her shoulder, and the other on her head, brushing her wet hair back as he gently brought her head forward, pressing their foreheads together. He was taking slow breaths, and Rose mirrored him, pulling herself together. They remained like that for a time, before Joseph dismissed the congregation and began to make his way to the shore. Rose followed the man, approaching John. She seemed more relaxed than he’d ever seen her, and he smiled, pulling her into a tight hug.

“I’m so proud of you,” he praised, using a finger to tilt the woman’s head up towards him. He leaned down a bit and pulled her into a kiss, holding the blonde close. Finally, after what felt like ages, but still not long enough, they parted. “Let’s go home, I’ll make dinner.”

Before Rose was able to reply, Joseph cut in. “No need, John. I want to speak with all three of you,” he said. “Go home, and get into something dry, then come back. I’ll cook for all of us.”

John nodded, though he clearly didn’t know much more than Jacob and Rose did concerning whatever the Father wanted to speak to them about. He took Rose back to the ranch, and they both got changed into dry clothing. John put on a copy of his usual clothes; a blue silk shirt, vest, and dark jeans; meanwhile, Rose pulled on a pair of jeans she had gotten from the trunk of Faith’s clothes, along with a white t-shirt and a red plaid flannel. They made their way to Joseph’s, finding Jacob’s truck parked outside. Jacob was sitting at the kitchen table, idly speaking with Joseph as he cooked, now dressed in dry pants and a buttoned shirt. John, Jacob and Rose all chatted amongst themselves, until Joseph set the serving dishes on the table. They each got their share, and Joseph said a short grace before they started to eat. Some time of silence went by, before Joseph spoke up.

“I said that I wanted to speak with all of you. That is true, but, this concerns Rose in particular.”


End file.
